Of Acid Tears
by Star Way
Summary: [Complete] Emotions are a greater weapon than you would care to know. And sometimes it's just too hard to be strong. Contains heavy language, beware. JxA, UxY, Ox?
1. I Continually Hope

**A/N:** This is, I guess, the sequel to my last fic, I Just Wanted to Tell You That I Love You. Most of you asked for one, so, uh, here it is! Yay! (And thanks to all of you who reveiwed last time, your input means a lot to me.)

This fic takes place right before Halloween, which I havebeen toldthat they celebrate in France as well as in America. Iactually started writing this at that time, but didn'tpost itup until now.Haha. So I procrastinate. Big deal. ;)

I will be doing this onethe more conventional way, where you post it chapter by chapter instead of just posting the whole story all at once, like I did in my last fic. That way I'll have a chance to respond to your reveiws before each chapter, which I'm sure is fun. :-P In any case, I hope you like this fic as much as the last one!

Thanks!

Erin.

**(P.S. - This fic may turn into PG-13 later, just a heads up.)**

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**-1-**

**Aelita's P.O.V.**

_October 29th_

_I feel weaker every day. My head spins with a hideous sensation, which I am told is pain. My legs sometimes refuse to support my own weight. Sometimes I cannot think... or feel... sometimes I cannot even breathe. Is the darkness of oblivion waiting for my body to give up, so it may reach out and grab me with its icy fingers, pulling me to my doom? I just don't know. I continually hope that each entry in you, my secret diary, is not to be my last..._

"Aelita?"

I looked up from my sitting position on the floor to see Jeremie's worried expression staring me in the face. Seeing him there, I quickly pocketed the small black book I had been writing in, into the secret fold in my skirt. I don't think he saw it.

We were in the factory. I was materialized, and was feeling strangely. Kneeling on the floor, I had been writing in my diary, while Jeremie was not watching me. I have found I have a passion for writing, because I feel so akward speaking my feelings aloud. Even to my beloved, Jeremie.

You see, he had just run a scan on me, and we had found bad news.

"Aelita, are you ok? You don't look so good..." said the blond boy.

"I...I feel...pain. Yes...pain, I think," I said, holding my head with one hand and fighting tears.

He took my other hand, which was damp with sweat. "I'm going to call the others. They need to know what's wrong with you, since it could be serious," he looked deeper into my eyes, and as soon as a few tears had fallen from them, he brushed them away gently. "It's going to be okay, Aelita. You know I won't let anything happen to you."

"Yes, Jeremie. I have faith in you, as always." I told him. Really, the sensation was stronger than I was letting on; but I didn't want Jeremie to know that. I knew it hurt him to see me unhappy. And seeing him hurt because of me hurt me even more.

I didn't look him in the eye at all. I could feel his worried gaze upon me, and my eyes were frozen on the ground. Finally, he gave me a fast, but tender hug before getting up and walking away.

Every muscle in my body tensed, bracing itself, as I waited for the feeling to pass.

--------------------------

_**Meanwhile...**_

**Ulrich's P.O.V.**

Yumi and I had just been freed from the boredom of school for the long, three-day, Halloween weekend. We were, once again, in our favorite place in the park, where no one knew about except us (and, well,Odd and Jeremie), and it was very peaceful. We were just hanging out, and enjoying each others' company. Odd was back at the dorm doing his homework, and we had decided to go out for some time to ourselves.

It was somewhat cold, and an angry wind swept across the land every once in a while, blowing Yumi's hair in her face and knocking what was left of the leaves on the trees to the ground. But neither of us felt chilly. That was because I had Yumi in my arms, and we were sitting on the grass, happy to be together.

Another gust sent her dark locks out of control. We laughed together, as we both brushed it out of her eyes.

"Damn hair..." she said. "You know, some days I just feel like cutting it all off! What good is it, anyway?"

"Well," I began, "It's pretty..."

She giggled. "Oh, you're so sweet, Ulrich." Her head, which had been resting up against my chest, turned upward, reaching my face, to plant a small but soft kiss on my cheek. After she had sunk back into her former position, I rested my head on top of hers, taking in the smell of her soft black hair.

"It smells cool, too," I said.

Laughing, she snuggled closer to me.

/God, I love this girl,/ I told myself silently.

I wanted to sit there forever, with her in my arms. I closed my eyes, and just felt us exist. Nothing mattered but us. It felt like we were floating in slow motion while the rest of the world went by......

"Hey you two. Seeing fireworks?"

I opened one eye, to see Odd in all his purple clothing grinning down at us. I jumped when I saw him. How long had he been watching us?

Yumi and I pulled away from each other. We can never be affectionate towards one another when friends are around... it just feels weird.

"When did you get here?" I asked, confused, annoyed, but still mildly amused.

"Just now. I saw you guys and thought I shouldn't bother you...but then I couldn't help myself," Odd told us, laughing.

I gave him a small smile, accompanied by a playful glare.

He smiled back, but changed the topic to what he cad originally come out to tell us. "But anyway, Jeremie just called and said we should get to the factory, and that he had something to tell us." He gave Yumi and I a look. "Of course, if this is a bad time..."

Yumi chuckled. "It's okay, Odd, Ulrich and I weren't doing anything,"

Odd raised an eyebrow.

I stood up. "That's not the issue. Come on guys, let's go." I grabbed Yumi's hand and we walked over to the manhole. As we walked, I caught a glimpse of Odd's face. He was staring at the ground, and strangely silent, compared to what he had seemed to be just a moment before.

I thought about this fact for a while, but when we got underground, my mind raced to other things, and I quickly forgot all about it.


	2. Aelita's Secret

**A/N:** Hi again! I've gotten chapter two up, finally! Phew! Please reveiw! Thanks, and enjoy!

**Flying star:** Are you ever not too lazy to sign in? LoL. ;) Yes, poor Aelita. I hope she'll be ok too.

**Iwo Jima fallen one: **Thanks! And I look forward to seeing your story as well. :)

**peachie bee:** Thank you! And about Odd, see, I realized that in my last story I had sort of hinted that he liked Yumi, but never followed up on that. I intend to deal more with Odd in future chapters. In the mean time, this chapter really doesn't have any Odd drama in it, haha. But I hope it's good anyway.

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**-2-**

**Jeremie's P.O.V.**

"Tell me all about Halloween again, Jeremie. I love hearing about it." Aelita was still sitting on the floor, and she seemed pale and in some sort of mild pain. I couldn't believe how determined she was to have a normal conversation with me, despite the fact that she could be in serious danger.

I gulped, and then said, "Uh, well, Aelita," I began. "Halloween is when people dress up in costumes and go to parties and stuff. Um, it's an American holiday, I think, but it's been getting kind of trendy to celebrate it around here, too. I think it used to be to celebrate the spirits of the dead, but I think now it's more about getting candy and having fun then much of anything spooky like that," I knew I sounded just as robotic and dull as a dictionary, spewing scientific and bleak definitions that can make anything sound boring.

Aelita, however, was intrigued. At least, I hoped she was.

"Spirits? You haven't told me about them," she looked at me curiously. The color was beginning to return to her cheeks, and I think she was starting to feel a little better.

I coughed. "Um, when people die in our world, which is like being deleted in your world, I suppose, most people think that their life force, or spirit, leaves its physical body, and..." I didn't know if I was making any sense.

"Go on," she said, completely fascinated by our conversation.

"...And so then they go to some sort of land of the dead, like Heaven or Hell,"

She cocked her head. "Do they really?"

"Well, see, that's the thing, no one really knows. People adopt their own beliefs on the topic," I told her. I wasn't quite sure what else to say.

She looked at me silently for a moment. I suddenly felt very uneasy about our conversation. I never felt right talking about that sort of thing. Science brings us answers that we can understand and accept, whereas the unexplained seems so strange, and, at times, scary.

"What do you believe, Jeremie?" she asked.

"Well I don't know, I guess I haven't thought about it much...but I certainly don't believe they can come back from the dea---AAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!!!!!" a noise from behind me made me jump six feet into the air.

I turned around. There, standing in the elevator were Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi. The noise I had heard was just the elevator door opening! I felt really stupid.

Three people were now laughing at me. Well, four, if you count the soft giggles that escaped the corners of Aelita's mouth. Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd were stepping out of the elevator, just about doubling over with laughter. Finally Yumi said, "H-hi Jerem-mie," she was talking and laughing at the same time. "Sorry, did we scare you?"

I rolled my eyes. They continued to taunt me with their hoots of amusement.

"Oh, will you three shut up?" I was embarrassed, and mildly angry.

"Well, considering that it was you who called us up here..." Ulrich said. "I mean, you were expecting us, so the fact that we freaked you out so bad is kind of...your fault..."

Odd coughed. "And that's what makes it funny!" the purple-haired boy informed me with a grin. "But anyway, why did you want to see us?"

Happy for the change of topic, I began to explain myself. "Well," I started. Aelita was behind me. Her face, that usually smiled sweetly, was now alarmingly serious.

"You all know about Aelita's virus," I continued.

The once joyous room had taken on a grim tone very quickly. My friends were almost afraid to nod their heads. They knew that I was about to tell them bad news.

"Well, you see, I was running a scan on Aelita... to see the virus, in hopes that it might shed some light on the issue of finding the cure... and I found out that...well, it's much more serious than I had thought," I was suddenly unable to look them in the eye. My arms were crossed tightly over my chest, making my fingertips turn white.

"Well?" Yumi said impatiently. "What did you find out?"

"Maybe I can explain," Aelita said, suddenly breaking her silence. "I've been feeling strangely lately. Random pains, nose bleeds, and I lack energy..."

Ulrich spoke up. "But you weren't feeling that way before, were you?"

"Uh, no, I wasn't. You see, my virus has mutated," Aelita said.

"We found out yesterday," I said.

"Well, are you going to be alright?" Yumi asked.

"I...I don't know...you see, there is one thing that I haven't told you, or Jeremie either, for that matter," Aelita said, looking down and running her foot through some dirt on the floor. "I've actually known about my virus, and how it's mutated for some time now. But I didn't say anything...."

I stared at her, bewildered. "What? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I...I didn't want to scare you..." she said guiltily.

"Aelita..." I said, aware that my friends were looking at one another worriedly. "How could you not tell me? I need to know these things! Suppose this virus had become so serious that your body couldn't handle it anymore?! You could be DEAD right now!!!!" I yelled, and then I stepped back, a little ashamed that I had raised my voice.

She put a hand to her mouth and I could see tears in her eyes, waiting to fall. "I'm sorry, Jeremie," she said softly, before turning to run into the elevator and disappearing inside of it.

My three friends watched, stunned, as all of these things happened.

I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes, and then sank back into the chair in front of the computer. I turned around so that I couldn't see them.

"Uh, Jeremie..." I heard Ulrich start to say.

I cut him off with harsh words. "Go away, you guys. I don't want to talk about it." I could feel them looking at me, and their worry. As if to end the conversation permanently, I put on my headphones, and turned on my CD player, turning the volume up as high as my ears could stand it.

A few minutes later, I turned around, to find I was alone in the factory. Ulrich, Odd, And Yumi had apparently gone away while I was turned around.

Taking my headphones off, I threw them onto the ground, where they impacted with a loud _thwack_. Suddenly I was unable to suppress my emotions, and my vision became blurred with tears. Looking down at my hands, which were tangled in my lap, I watched as two large tears fell and splashed them with warm wetness.


	3. Shadows

**A/N** – Let's hear it for long chapters! WOOHOO! ;) Well, I hope you like it! I spent all too long on this. XD I should probably like, start doing homework before I get involved with this stuff. Arrg. But.... It's so much.... Fun.... Ack. I'm so addicted to fanfic!

Bleh. Well, in any case, here are the responses to the reviews on my last chapter:

**The 13th Pearl:** Aw, thanks!

**Tyler:** Haha, thanks buddy. ;)

**Aelita Lyoko the 2nd: **Well, we shall see if things get better or worse between Jeremie and Aelita. I apologize for not getting into that at all in this chappie, but next chapter will be all about that.

**Flying Star:** Aha. Have you tried deleting your cookies? I don't know if that's the problem, but, depending on what browser you use, there should be a place where you can go, like Internet Options, to delete your cookies. That might fix it. Maybe.

Thank you for your review! I can't say much though, or else it might give it away. :X

Yeah, I know you have stories of your own. I've probably read at least one, but I'll look at your account today and read all of them and give you some reviews if my dad doesn't kick me off the computer. Heehee.

**cat girl:** Here you go! I hope you like.

(Um, another little author's note: If you're reading this, I hope you go look at the stories written by all of my wonderful reviewers. I'm sure they would appreciate it! )

Anyhoo, here it is. Please please please PLEASE review. Reviews are wonderful, as all authors on this site know. ;) In return I will try to R&R all of your stories as well. Thanks! And enjoy!

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**-3-**

**Yumi's P.O.V.**

"Well, I don't know what to think," Odd said, throwing a pebble, and watching as it hit the water below us. We were on the bridge, talking. It was getting sort of dark, too. The boys would have to go back to their dorm soon, so that Jim wouldn't catch them out after curfew.

I was silent. Ulrich was standing next to me.

"Well, is there anything we can do about it?" Ulrich asked.

"I don't know," Odd said. "I just hope Aelita will be ok. And I really hope she and Jeremie will get over each other. Jeremie especially."

"Yeah," Ulrich agreed.

"Oh, I'm sure he will," I said. "He's just stressed. You know how he's been over-working himself to find that anti-virus lately."

"True," commented Ulrich. "But he never yells at _anyone_. And the fact that he yelled at Aelita suggests that he's really upset by this."

"God knows I would be," I whispered, looking at Ulrich, "If... the one I loved were in danger..." I found myself looking into Ulrich's eyes. I lost myself in them quickly. Our gaze locked, and I felt butterflies in my stomach.

Odd coughed, breaking our trance. I looked away from Ulrich's face, and I felt my cheeks burning. Embarrassed, I looked in Odd's direction with a sheepish smile, that he didn't see anyway, because he was turned around, and was looking at the up at the sky. I couldn't see his face.

For far too long, the only sounds that were heard were birds, and the wind whipping around us.

Out of the blue, Ulrich's cell phone rang. "Oh, oops," Ulrich said, pulling the phone out of his pocket, then pressing a button and putting it to his ear. "Hello? ... uh, yes ma'am ... alright, yeah, I'll be right there." He looked up at us. "I have to go back to the school, Mrs. Hertz wants to see me. Something about a science test." He gave us a look of confusion. Most teachers don't ask to see their students when it was getting as late as it was. He put his phone back in his pocket. "See you 'round Yumi. Later, Odd." He walked up to me and kissed me quickly on the cheek. I blushed, knowing that Odd was present.

Odd, still turned around, lowered his head and mumbled, "Yeah, see ya. I'll be back at the dorm later tonight."

I watched as Ulrich walked away. Slowly, his features became more and more distant.

"Yumi?"

I turned to see Odd stepping towards me.

"Yeah?" I responded.

His eyes dropped to the ground. He paused. ..."Do you love him?"

I took a step backwards, caught off guard by his question. Gathering myself, I said, "Um, why do you ask?"

His eyes were still fixed on the cement of the bridge. After a moment, he said, "Nothing. Just forget it."

"No, Odd, I want to know," I said.

He started to walk away from me. "I said to forget it!" he yelled, without stopping.

I ran up to him, walking by his side, trying to keep up with his fast pace. "Okay, yes, I love him. Now tell me why you asked!"

He turned sharply, looking into my eyes. Then he simply whispered, "Leave me alone." After he said this, he continued to stare at me for a moment, as if making sure that his words had gotten through to me. Then he started walking away again.

I didn't follow. Instead, I simply called out his name. He responded with a dismissing backwards wave of his hand.

Confused, I watched him until he was out of sight. Then I started walking home too.

I treaded along slowly, watching as the bare branches of trees swayed in the soft gusts of gentle night air. Street lights were beginning to switch on, and they stood firmly in the ground, staining the darkness with luminous splotches. I pondered Odds actions all the while. Nothing made sense. But as the dark shadows of the dimming world closed around me, and nighttime became more and more apparent, my mind became too swamped with thoughts, questions, and feelings, that I couldn't stand it any longer. Taking in a breath of the crisp night air, that had the autumnal hint of bonfires upon its scent, I tried my hardest to clear my thoughts.

Soon, I could see my house in plain sight.

As I reached it, I opened the door, got inside, said 'hello' to my mother and father, and raced upstairs.

As I walked down the hall, I could hear the faint sound of a girl crying. Opening the door to the room I share with Aelita, I found her sitting in the corner, her back to me, weeping softly.

-------------------------

_**Meanwhile...**_

**Odd's P.O.V.**

I paced across the school grounds, finally reaching the door that leads into the wing of the building where our dorms are. I walked along the hallway angrily, pushing past everyone in my way.

"_Why are you jealous?_" asked a voice in my head.

"_I'm not_," I told it.

"_Pfft, yeah right. Dude, you SO are_," the Voice said, snickering.

"I AM NOT!" I screamed, out loud on accident. Several students stopped what they were doing to give me strange looks. I felt the tingling hot sensation of a blush on my face, but I continued down the hallway anyway.

"_Okay, whatever dude. But if you won't admit that you like Yumi, then I don't want to hear you complaining about how she's with Ulrich instead of you anymore_," said The Voice.

"_I can't tell her. She's dating my best friend already! It's just wrong for me to like her!_" I said to the Voice.

"_So? She's hot, and you know it. You've liked her ever since that time when you were in the infirmary!_"

Images raced across my mind. I remembered that time so vividly.

In a flashback, I remembered her holding my hand after I had been injured when something went wrong in Lyoko. I saw her face; it was passionate, sweet, and loving. I had been so foolish to think that she liked me, and that the warm eyes and smile she used belonged to me only. I see it every day when she's with Ulrich. But she never looks at me with it anymore. I realized then how much I miss that look.

"_Alright, what do I have to do to get her back?_" I asked The Voice. At the same time, I unlocked the door to Ulrich's and my room, which was unoccupied and dark. I stepped inside, and switched on a light.

"_Eliminate Ulrich, of course_," it said.

"_I can't do that! He's my best friend!_"

"_Look, do you want Yumi or not?_" it asked.

_"Leave me alone!"_ I yelled at it, this time in my head instead of out loud.

_"Okay, fine, whatever...But I know a way to get her back!"_ the Voice called.

Angry, I pushed the voice out of my mind. I placed both hands over my head. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" I said, my eyes squeezed shut. Then I opened them, and took a deep breath. _"Man, was I just talking to myself?"_ I thought.

I looked over at my unmade bed, the sheets thrown on the floor and Kiwi lying peacefully in the middle of the mess. _I must be really tired, _I realized.

I walked over to my bed, and lay down on it, after Kiwi got up and moved. As soon as I settled down, he sat on my chest and licked my face. "You're lucky, Kiwi. You don't have to think about the same things humans do." I scratched him behind his ears, and he fell asleep.

_I'm sorry, Yumi...I should never have said those things..._I thought to her, as my eyes closed and I, too, fell into a deep sleep. I never even heard Ulrich when he came back that night.

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_**Meanwhile...**_

**Aelita's P.O.V.**

_Oh diary, I am so unhappy. I can't believe how stupid I am. Jeremie yelled at me today because I didn't tell him about my virus sooner. I can't believe I didn't tell him. He said I could be dead. Sometimes I wish I were, actually. Jeremie told me about something called a spirit today too. I wonder if I have one, diary? If I were to die, would I go somewhere else, leaving my body? I sometimes wish to go somewhere else – somewhere where there is no pain or unhappiness. I wonder if Jeremie would miss me or not if I went away. I'll bet he wouldn't. I should go downstairs right now, and get one of Yumi's mother's kitchen knives and slit my wrists!_

I attempted, with the sleeve of my sweater, to wipe away the wet spots that were being created by the tears falling on the pages of my diary. I failed, as it is very hard to dry paper with one's sleeve, as I had just discovered.

Sitting in the corner of the room Yumi shares with me, with my back to the door, I sniffled, and then picked up my pen again and, it was about to touch the paper of the small black book when I heard the door open behind me. I placed the book back in my pocket before turning around to see who was entering.

"Aelita?" Yumi said, walking over to the corner I was in, where she squatted down beside me.

I sniffled again. "Hi, Yumi," I said.

"You ok? You wanna talk?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Just give me some time. I'll be alright," I told her, my voice trembling. I had tried my hardest to make it seem as though I was no longer crying.

Yumi looked unconvinced. "Aelita..." She sighed. "Aelita, look at me."

Slowly, I turned my head upwards. As soon as I looked into her eyes, I felt a lump growing in my throat and had to look down at the floor again, fearing that I'd start crying harder in front of her.

"Aelita," she said, laughing. "Come on, look up at me!"

I giggled too, but then my laughter turned into tears. "Oh Yumi!" I said, breaking down and hugging my friend sadly. "I've made a terrible mistake!"

"It's ok, Aelita. You can tell me," Yumi said.

"Yumi, I..." my words were choked with sobs. "I feel that Jeremie is right, I...I could be dead right now..." I let more tears stream down my face and run down onto Yumi's shoulder. "I feel horrible about this whole thing. I..." I didn't know whether to say the next words or not. "I feel almost as though I wish I had never sent out that S.O.S. call for Jeremie to get."

"Aelita..." Yumi said, holding me at arm's length, to study my face with an intense look in her eyes.

"He has given me so much, Yumi. And I haven't given him anything in return. And now I think he hates me for what I've done!" I yelled, a little too loud.

"Oh come on, Aelita. Jeremie could never hate you. And I know you don't wish that. Just think about all of the good times we've spent together! Think about all of the people you have come to know, and the life you've lived here with us! Without you, Jeremie would be incomplete. He needs you, Aelita! We all need you." Yumi said. "And about your fight today, it's no big deal, really. He's just a little stressed right now, is all," she said with a reassuring smile. "Go see him tomorrow. You'll get things all cleared up! I promise. It will all be fine."

"You really think so?" I said, sniffling and wiping the wetness from my face.

"I really do," Yumi said. Her kind, optimistic words and warm facial expression made me feel a lot better.

"Oh, thank you, Yumi! Yes, I will go to see him tomorrow. And it will all be okay," I said, my voice no longer suffocated with misery.

She grinned, and stood up. "Go get yourself cleaned up, ok? And then I suggest getting some sleep. It's been a long day, and I know _I'm_ tired." She yawned.

I nodded, and got onto my feet. As I walked to the bathroom, I felt happy, but butterflies were still in my stomach; as I knew that tomorrow I'd have to face my lover the next day.

I walked into the bathroom. Feeling a familiar shape shift around by my side, I reached into my hidden pocket and brought out my small black diary. Flipping through its pages, I found my most recent entry.

I read it once.

And then read it once more.

Then, as quietly as I could, I tore it out of the book. Crumpling the sheet of paper up, I placed it in the trash can, burying it beneath some tissues.

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**A/N:** Phew! That took me a long time to write. oO; Well, anyway, it's good to hear Aelita isn't thinking about suicide anymore, huh? But don't think things are only going to get better, the next chapter will only force the characters to face more drama.

(Reminds everyone to review again, and then laughs at herself for being such a review whore.)


	4. The Sickness of the Mind

**A/N:** So I notice I've forgotten to add a disclaimer to, not only all three previous chapters of this story, but to all _nine_ chapters of my other fic! How sad. Well, I suppose it's not _entirely_ necessary, but for the sake of making sure that I don't get sued, here is my disclaimer:

(Begins singing to the Code:Lyoko theme song...)

**Here I am!   
As a fan!   
To sa -ave my ass,   
If I give what I've got,   
I won't get sued, today!**

**Make lawyers go away!!**

**Code Lyoko! I will never own,   
Code Lyoko! Even when I'm old!   
Code Lyoko! Why's this text in bold?   
Code Lyoko! I guess we'll never know!**

(Lyrics are based on original but they are also © me, IndustrialFear, so hands off! )

But, um, yeah. Enough disclaimer-y stuff. Here are the responses to your reviews. Yay reviews!

**stargirl**: I'm glad you like it!

**peachie bee:** Heehee, and he might. But I'm not telling. Isn't suspense lovely?

**Flying Star:** Yes, well, read this chapter and see what happens. ;) Thanks for reviewing a lot, by the way. Heehee.

**Tellemicus Sundance: **:blush: aw, thanks! I'm glad you like it!

**mizZ hypocrite 101: **omg omg omg thanks! LoL. (Oh, I'm not making fun of you, just being silly. )

**Gir:** Um, no, that's not what I had in mind at all. Odd doesn't hate Ulrich. He doesn't hate him in the series, and he doesn't hate him in this story either. He's just a little jealous is all. But I can't say anything else about that or I'll give away the plot. Thanks for reviewing, though.

**Aelita6349:** Thanks for reviewing! That meant a lot to me! ;)

-Onward with the story-

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**-4-**

**Aelita's P.O.V.**

My eyes opened slowly. I became aware of a bright light shining down on me, but in a soft, gentle way, a way that didn't hurt my eyes. I realized that it was the sun burning dazzlingly above my head. The world felt warm, and my skin tingled as an amazingly clean breeze swept calmly over my body, ruffling my hair and causing everything else in its path to sway lightly.

Wait. Sun? A breeze?

_How did I get here? _I asked myself, confused. _Am I dead? Did I die in my sleep?_ I stood up, and looked around, to discover that I had been lying in the only small clearing in an endless field of flowers, that leaned as the soft breeze hit them. Confused, I put a hand over my eyes to shield them from the sun, and squinted, trying to see to the ends of this strange new world I was in.

A noise behind me made me jump. Turning, I saw Jeremie walking towards me slowly, with a smile on his face.

"Jeremie?" I said, even more confused. "Wh-where are we?"

He didn't respond. He just stood there, smiling.

"Jeremie... Why aren't you speaking to me?" I asked, stepping closer to him.

Suddenly I heard the soft sound of others disturbing the flowers as they came closer to where I stood. Turning, I saw that four more people that looked exactly like Jeremie were walking towards me. I took a step backwards, only to bump into the original Jeremie. I jumped away from him.

"What is this?" I asked, as fear was beginning to sink into my heart, wrapping itself around my gut and squeezing my innards.

I looked around myself in all directions, to find that I was completely surrounded by Jeremies.

"What the hell is this?!" I demanded again, my voice becoming violent in a way I didn't know it could be.

None of them spoke. Instead, they just smiled at me eerily.

I gulped, and felt tears forming in my eyes. I didn't know what was going on, but it whatever it was, it was scary.

Suddenly, all at once, the Jeremies reached into their back pockets to bring out hand guns, which they all pointed at me. Their faces still wore that strange smile.

The once blue sky flashed and became a sickening shade of orange and red. Shadows swallowed up the world, and the breeze became faster and smelled the way the air does right before a heavy rain.

"What.... what are you doing?" I asked, a single tear falling from my face. I didn't notice it though. My heart was pounding fifty beats a second, sending the blood to my head all too fast.

"What are you doing?!!" I screamed again.

But the Jeremies just stood.

A flash of red light jolted across the sky and into the distant horizon, disappearing in an instant. The flash came back a second later, this time staying in place.

I gasped, recognizing its shape. It was in the form of the eye of Xana.

His icon burned brightly in the sky, in place of where the sun was a moment ago.

I returned my attention to the Jeremies.

Their fingers were on the triggers. I watched in horror as, all at once, with a simple squeezing motion, all of the guns went off.

Just before I was sure I would die, I screamed out, "NO!"

_B-BANG!_

A sharp pain in my stomach. I fell onto something soft.

"Aelita?" A pair of hands were shaking me gently. Yumi's voice accompanied them.

I opened my eyes. "Yumi?"

"Are you alright?!" The dark-haired girl was keeling by my bedside, wide-eyed. "You were talking in your sleep!"

"Oh, Yumi! Thank god!" I sat up, only to be reminded of the pain in my stomach. I knew it was my virus, writhing and burning inside of me. My quick movements also made me become aware of a monster headache pounding on the inside of my skull, as though something were trapped in my head and desperately trying to beat its way out.

"What happened? Did you have a bad dream?" Yumi asked, sympathy softening her dark eyes.

I hesitated. Then I said, "Yes..." I clutched my aching head.

"Are you alright? Do you want to talk?"

I looked down for a brief moment. _Yes,_ I wanted to say. I wanted to talk to her a whole lot, actually. Last night, though speaking about everything I had been thinking seemed awkward, had actually made me feel better. But this dream. I couldn't talk about it. My stomach, already twisted in agony, felt a new sensation; a hot, acidic feeling that rose all the way up to the back of my throat, and I knew it was my fear of communicating my thoughts aloud.

I shook my head. "I'll be fine," I said. "I just have a little headache, that's all."

She stared at me a moment, and I had the nauseating sense that she was looking through me; that she could see everything that I was hiding from her.

Finally, she rose from her kneeling position and walked to the doorway. She stopped in the middle of it, and looked back. "I'll make us some breakfast..." she told me. Her face still had worry tacked all over it. She then left, leaving me to myself.

I pushed the sheets covering my body off of myself, revealing the pair of athletic shorts and the old floppy t-shirt that Yumi had given me for pajamas. My bare legs were instantly ungrateful, as they were used to the warmth of being covered by cotton blankets. I swung them around, forcing them to touch the floor beneath me.

I walked into the bathroom. Leaning on the sink, I closed my eyes for a brief instant, as if to force some of the pain out of my body. Opening them again, I reached for my toothbrush, and squeezed a blob of blue toothpaste onto it.

------------------------------------

**Odd's P.O.V.**

The ceiling above my bed was the kind that had little bumps and ridges made of plaster all over it, texturing its white blankness. It was high enough above my bed that I had to squint to see the details of it, but low enough that I could see them at all. I had been staring up at it for some time now. Ulrich, on the bed across the room, was still asleep. I looked over at him. His chest rose and fell, softly and innocently. Every once in a while, he would mumble something that could, at times, possibly be the word 'Yumi'.

I sat up, my cheeks pressed up against my hands, which supported my head. I stayed like that for a moment. My body was completely still, but my mind was racing at 500 miles an hour.

'_Did I really think those things last night?'_ I wondered. _'I would never think about hurting one of my friends. That's just crazy!'_

I got off the bed. Kiwi, who had been curled, fast asleep, looked up at me, alerted by my movements. Softly, I moved around the room, getting some things, and then going into the bathroom. There, I changed into my purple clothes, and re-gelled my hair, which had been drooping to the side. The purple spot was unkempt and out of order, so I combed my fingers through it until it was straight. I then brushed my teeth, and walked back out into the part of our dorm where Ulrich was sleeping.

I opened a closet door, where I took out the bag of Doggie Kibbles. Upon seeing it, Kiwi jumped off of my bed excitedly, and pushed his bowl towards me with his nose. I poured some of the food into his dish, where he then proceeded to stick his nose in the bowl and munch the kibbles ravenously.

My eyes once more wandered over to Ulrich's sleeping form when I heard him murmur Yumi's name again. I saw him smile. For some reason, that made me really mad.

I looked over at my desk. On it was a small pocket knife I keep for various uses, the most common one, I have found, was to pick locks.

A familiar voice inside my head came back to haunt me. '_Do it!_' It said.

Without thinking, I got up, and took the knife. I felt it, cold, in my hands. '_Do it!_' the voice said again. Flipping the blade open, I walked over to Ulrich's bed, where he was still fast asleep.

----------------------------

**A/N:** Yeah, I know, you're all pissed off at me for making a cliff hanger.

Too bad! ;)


	5. Last Words

**A/N:** Here we go again. I am exceedingly sorry for failing to update sooner (I hope some of you cared), but anyway here it is. Please review, as always.

**Disclaimer:** like last time, I don't own Code Lyoko. Too bad.

**Reviewer responses:**

**mizZ hypocrite 101:** Thanks for reviewing. I hope you feel better! If you ever want to talk, I'm a good listener, and you can throw me an e-mail or IM. :)

**Flying Star:** thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!! You have no idea how much your reviews mean to me. Really. And, yes, The Enemy Within was great. I'm so glad you're around, it's hard to find good writers like you.

**Anonymous: **Thanks.

indigowolf I'm glad you like it. Sorry I don't have a cool disclaimer this time too. Oh well.

**tyler:** did you just say jeebus?

**Tellemicus Sundance: **Yay! I'm so happy you like it! It means a lot to me that you decided to come review my fic. :)

And Here We Go!

* * *

**Yumi's P.O.V.**

"Come on Aelita, you can't keep putting it off. Go see him! I've told you that it's going to be just fine! You'll be glad that you did," I said to my friend, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed. We were in my room, and she was playing with my Totoro pillow nervously. She had told me that she'd go see Jeremie that day. But she obviously wasn't in any hurry. It was now almost nine in the morning, at least two hours since we had gotten up.

"I suppose so," the pink-haired girl whispered, not looking at me. Her eyes sat on the floor, and they seemed to be afraid to venture anywhere else.

Aelita had seemed so secretive lately. I didn't know what to make of it.

Neither of us said anything for a while. Finally, Aelita opened her mouth. "I guess there is no point in waiting," she said, getting off of her bed. "At least, no more than I have already," I could tell that she was trying to hide her anxiety.

"Okay. Do you want me to go with you?" I asked, knowing that if I had gotten into a fight with Ulrich and was going to confront him, I'd want to have some reinforcements go along with me.

Aelita, who was putting on her shoes, threw me a brief glance. "Uh, sure…"

Together, we made our way for the school, the chilly autumn world consuming us.

----------------------------

**Odd's P.O.V.**

I held the knife just above Ulrich's chest, ready to stab it through his heart. I didn't know what I was doing. Beads of sweat gathered on my forehead, and my eyes were wide.

I was about to let my arm plunge down onto Ulrich, to impale him with the knife, when his eyes popped open, making me almost jump out of my skin.

I hid the blade behind my back. Ulrich didn't see it.

"Odd? What…what are you doing?" Ulrich asked, sitting up, and blinking.

I looked around, trying to come up with an answer. '_What was I doing?_' I asked myself. I was suddenly very scared. I didn't know what to do or say.

"Odd? Are you okay?" Ulrich asked.

I was about to open my mouth, to see if an excuse would come out on its own, when someone knocked on our door.

I walked over to it, confused at myself, but glad for the interruption. Turning the doorknob and pulling on it, I revealed Yumi standing outside. Her usual smile was comforting, although there was something else there. Maybe a look of worry, or sadness.

"Hey guys," she said. "I hope it's not too early. But Aelita wanted to go see Jeremie and I thought I'd go with to see you two."

I knew that by 'us two' she really meant just Ulrich. I felt so unimportant to her.

"No, it's not too early," Ulrich said from behind me. "I just need to get dressed," he informed us, heading into the bathroom with some clothes.

I watched him walk inside the bathroom and close the door behind himself. He was just like the old Ulrich that I knew. Why had I felt so much hatred towards him just moments before?

I looked over at Yumi, who had come inside, and was making herself comfortable on Ulrich's desk chair. She smiled at me. "So how's it going, Odd?"

Suddenly, for a single instant, a flash of red light filled my mind. I blinked.

When I didn't respond, a questioning look crossed her face. "Odd?" she got up and walked over to me. "Are you okay?"

I closed my eyes. The scarlet flash raced across my mind again. And I barely saw the image of Xana's eye.

"Odd?! Odd! Earth to Odd!" I heard her say, over and over again. I looked up at her. Ulrich was just returning from the bathroom, wearing his typical olive green outfit.

"What's going on, you guys?" he asked.

"Something's wrong with Odd," Yumi said.

"Odd, what's up? Are you feeling alright?" Ulrich asked me, concerned.

And it was then that I knew I was not myself, for the second time today. I looked directly at Ulrich, a loathsome look in my eyes. I knew it was present because I could see myself from across the room, somehow, even though I could see out of my own eyes at the same time. It's really hard to explain. But I couldn't control myself. My eyes switched over to Yumi's, my frown becoming a toothy grin, one that only I knew had a hint of mischief in it.

"I'm excellent," I didn't say. The words just came out of my mouth.

-------------------------------

**Aelita's P.O.V.**

I stared at his door, not quite knowing if I really wanted to knock just yet.

'_I know I can do this. Are human relationships not built in a way that force obstacles in the pathways of those who love one another? Are we any different? Fights mean only that we have come to an opportunity to learn from each other. I must see him. This is right, and I should know it. So why am I so afraid?_' I asked myself. My right hand brushed against the side of my leg, and my fingertips made their way into my pocket, instinctively bringing out the small black book. I wanted to start writing in it then at that moment, I wanted to ease the steady pain pumping through my veins, and the fear I felt for knocking on Jeremie's door. I wanted to feel the adjectives fly from my mind, down through my arm, and out my fingers, becoming sentences, describing my agony on the pages.

'_No. I can't. Not right now. I must go see him._'

My head pounded a little harder.

Unable to force my hand into a fist capable of beating out a rhythm on Jeremie's door, I took out the pen from my pocket, and squatted on the floor with my diary.

I feel such pain now that my hand is having trouble holding the pen down onto the paper… And yet I am obligated to do what I fear worst- confronting Jeremie. Why is this hard for me?!

Another jolt of pain shuddered through my body, leaving as quickly as it had come.

My eyes shifted over to a nearby window.

I pictured myself breaking the glass, and taking a shard to my neck, allowing my blood to flow from it, feeling myself die.

_I want to know if I have a spirit, diary. If I killed myself now, would I move on, or cease to exist? As morbid as it sounds, either option seems better than the one in front of me. I realize now that I am not ever going to return to Lyoko like Jeremie said I'd have to._

I felt a lump ache powerfully in my throat.

_I am so sorry to everyone for this. The fate of the world lies in the fact that I can no longer go on…_

The sound of movement in front of me made me jump. Realizing that Jeremie was just in the room ahead, I knew that I would have to act quickly. I capped my pen and shoved it in my pocket, and was about to walk over to the window when…

The door in front of me opened, and a groggy-looking Jeremie stuck his head out. I didn't have time to put away my diary, so I shoved it away, finding a convenient nook in the wall to hide it in. I could grab it on the way out.

Jeremie blinked. "Aelita?"

I straightened up, and looked into his eyes. I could not tell what lay behind them, what feelings he had about my visit. "Jeremie," I whispered.

"What do you want?" he asked, in a way that was neither hostile nor welcoming.

"I…I just came by to talk…" I said, aware that he seemed not to want me. '_Yumi can have her wish, I guess. I'll speak to him. But only for a while,_' I told myself.

He looked at me a moment.

"Well, can I come in, or not?" I asked, a little bolder-sounding than before.

He hesitated, but then he opened the door wider and stepped aside, allowing me to enter his dorm. I walked inside.

His room was dark, except for angled lines of gray light streaming into his window. His computer monitor was on screen saver, patterns dancing on it slowly.

"Happy Halloween," he mumbled as he shut the door behind me.

"It's Halloween today…. I forgot…."

He crossed his arms, and leaned against the door. "Yeah, well. I'm sure it's a forgivable offense," he said blankly.

I was depressed by how gloomy he and his environment appeared to be. '_Why am I even here?_' I wondered. '_This is my fault and we both know it.'_ "Uh, Jeremie… About yesterday…." I began.

He looked down. "Oh you mean, when you informed the group about how you failed to tell me about your virus?" His voice had a certain bitterness to it, one that was vague but definitely present.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I suppose that's one way to put it…" I said.

"I want to know why you felt like you had to hide something from me," he said, his face reflecting a strange look that I had never seen on Jeremie's face before – one that could, possibly be hatred?

"Look, I came to work that out! I'm here to say that I'm sorry," I said, getting somewhat annoyed.

"You came here…. to work it out? …. to…. to say that you're _sorry?!_ Well let me tell you something, Aelita," he said, stepping closer to me. "When you're here on earth, you're just like everyone else. You get one life. One! Now if you want me to protect that one life of yours…"

I cut him off. "Oh, so what, now? You think I need _protection?!_ If I'm just like everyone else here, than I deserve not to be treated like such a _little fucking girl!_ I don't need your protection! In Lyoko it's one thing, but here I can take care of myself, so… so… _deal with it!_" I screamed, anger burning in my veins like gasoline. I then looked down, mildly ashamed. I had never really yelled at any one like this before. I had definitely never felt this much rage inside.

I felt my headache get a little worse.

Walking closer still, he stared at me, dead in the face. I could feel his breath on my cheeks. "Fine," he simply said. Then he turned around and walked over to his bed, and began making it. "Is that how you think I treat you, Aelita? Like a little girl?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the bed he was making.

"Yes," was my answer. "And I think that in getting so caught up in all of your ideas about how I'm just an innocent girl from Lyoko and that means that I need to be protected at every moment, that you've failed to see that I don't need you as much as you think I do!" He opened his mouth and pointed a finger at me, about to say something. But I didn't let him say it. "…AND EVEN THOUGH I may have a virus, I don't need your support, you _bastard!_" Underneath, I felt a strange happiness, because I had always had this bizarre desire to get so mad at someone that I could call them a bastard. Further underneath, I felt sad, though, because I knew that Jeremie was no bastard. I knew I hadn't come here to scream at him. But something made me feel as though I needed to say these things. That Jeremie deserved it.

"You have that virus because you _wanted_ to come to Earth. Now I'm not going to watch while you die because of it!"

That made me even angrier. I felt the worsening pain caused by my virus fuel my rage. "So it's _my fault?!_ No way! _I'm _not taking the blame for this. And if it's such a hassle to try to find an anti-virus, why are you doing it at all?! If it's _my_ fault, than why do you even bother?"

He looked into my eyes, burning rage visible behind them. "I guess I don't know any more, considering all of the thanks I get."

"Then stop. I don't care. Let me die. You obviously don't love me anyway," I said, my voice completely flat. I opened his door and stormed out.

"Fine! I will!" Jeremie shouted, following me out into the hallway.

"Good! Now you can get back to writing all of your little _computer programs_ and growing up into the _fucking genius_ that you try to be. But you know what? Maybe you aren't as smart as you think you are!" I screamed at him. My headache, I noticed, was becoming almost unbearably painful.

"Whatever," he said, going back into his dorm and slamming the door behind him.

I felt tears in my eyes. Hot ones, ones that only come when you're so mad that you can't think straight.

But my virus…. My stomach seemed to shriek out in agony. My head felt as though knives were piercing through it. I felt a warm liquid rush from my nose down onto my upper lip, and as it dripped down onto my clothing, I found that it was blood.

I staggered across the hallway, using the wall for support. Finally, I could no longer stand the pain, and I fell to the ground. The world around me became blurred and discolored, before fading into darkness completely.

"Oh my god!" cried a female voice.

"Someone call an ambulance!!" someone else shouted.

And then, my world was nothing. I lost myself to the infinite, never getting to say another word to Jeremie.

The last thing I saw was the blood-red eye of Xana blotting out the sun, a twisted and painful flashback to my nightmare.


	6. Cheerful Lies

**A/N:** Just the usual. I'd like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers! My goal for this fic is to break 50 reviews, and if I can do that, maybe even 100. Who knows? It might happen! (Even though I kinda doubt it… eh, oh well.) In any case, I'm sorry that I don't have time to respond to all of your reviews now, but I may in the next chapter.

This chap. is dedicated to **Tellemicus Sundance**. Let's give him a big round of applause! Please read his story, The Weak Link, if you haven't already.

**Disclaimer:** If I had a time machine, I could go back to the time before the show was created and claim it for my own. But, I don't have a time machine, and that would be dishonest anyway. So basically, I don't own Code Lyoko. Nor will I ever. Poo.

**One last note:** major thanks to **peachie bee** and **Flying Star**. They've been around ever since I started writing this fic and have been so supportive!

(Want to be mentioned in my author's notes at the beginning of my chapters? It's simple! Just review, review, review! I'd be most grateful. Thanks!)

* * *

**Odd's P.O.V.**

Bright, angry overhead lights stared me directly in the eyes. I had been sitting in this stupid chair for, god only knows how long… and, to be honest, my butt was getting pretty numb.

Ulrich, Yumi, and I were in the hospital waiting room. The paramedics had carted Aelita away just a few hours ago, after she had apparently collapsed in the hallway outside of Jeremie's dorm. We think Dorothy was the one who called an ambulance in the first place. Not that that information really makes a difference, though.

The scary part of all this (I mean, besides the obvious) was that I don't actually remember ever asking the EMTs who were taking Aelita away if I could ride with them, but then, mid-trip, I found myself with Ulrich and Yumi in the back of the ambulance. It was cramped and hysterical, and the two paramedics working on Aelita were kind of pissed because they didn't have much room to work, which you can't blame them for, with five people in the back all at once. Why Jeremie hadn't asked to come along too is beyond me; I knew they were fighting, but I never imagined that the most kind and gentle group members would ever get as pissed off as they are now, much less at _each other_.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing that was on my mind. I was even feeling a little guilty for letting myself think about other issues, ones that didn't have anything to do with Aelita.

But I _was_ thinking them, regardless of the fact that I felt badly for not keeping my thoughts on the immediate danger. One question ran through my mind almost non-stop.

What the hell happened this morning?

I didn't know. Now noon, I looked back on the experience, afraid of it. I had been trying, all that time we were in the waiting room, to convince myself that it was nothing. To dismiss it as something that had happened when I was still sort of tired.

Lame. Yes. But I didn't know what else to think. And it was the best I could do, considering that every time I closed my eyes, I saw the image of Xana's eye in my mind, like before.

That morning I had said things that… I didn't want to say. But I said them anyway. And Ulrich and Yumi, who were once concerned about me, had decided I was fine because of the things I said. And that was what I was trying to convince myself of too.

'_Whatever. It doesn't matter…_'

Ulrich and Yumi were sharing a single seat, Yumi draped over Ulrich, hugging him as though if she let him go she would fall to her death. I rolled my eyes at them, and looked away.

"Oh, I hope Aelita will be okay!" Yumi moaned, squeezing her boyfriend a little tighter.

"Me too," was all Ulrich said. I looked over at the couple just in time to see him press a soft kiss on her cheek.

Angered by the combination of Ulrich and Yumi being affectionate to each other in front of me, and the common annoyances associated with hospital waiting rooms – the lighting, the stench of disinfectant, the noise, the people – I decided to go outside. I had always hated hospitals. ERs were even worse. And the fact that Aelita had been admitted here almost four hours ago and we hadn't heard from any doctors yet was making me even more nervous.

"I'm going out for a while. Maybe back to the school. Call me if you hear anything," I told my friends, who each responded with a nod. I stood, and walked to the exit.

Unaware of a pair of dark blue eyes that were fixed upon me, I pushed my way past a few people to get outside, into the afternoon air.

I sat on a bench near the emergency room entrance, gathering my thoughts. I noted to myself how much it would suck to work here, it being a holiday and all. '_Oh yeah, it is a holiday today…_' I thought. I had forgotten. So had Ulrich and Yumi, apparently. I hadn't heard them talk about it yet. Then I remembered that Sissi had made her dad host a big dance at the school to celebrate Halloween. I didn't think any of my friends would attend. I briefly considered going by myself, just to get away from Ulrich and Yumi. But I quickly discarded the thought after deciding that dances were only fun when people you know (and can stand) are around.

_Ulrich and Yumi._

Why those two had been bothering me so much, I couldn't say. I had never been the jealous type. In fact, before then, I had been just the opposite.

"_It's because you want Yumi, remember?_" the Voice in my head sneered.

"_What do you want?_" I snapped.

"_Well, I came back to help you again. I really think we can get Yumi back, and get Ulrich out of the picture. It won't fail this time if you'll just listen to me…"_ the Voice informed me proudly.

"_To help me?! Yeah, whatever. All you've caused is trouble,_" I said.

"_But that's what you want. And that's what I'm here for. To **get** you what you want,_" it said.

"_Killing my best friend is not what I want!_"

"_Are you sure? Yumi's right in your reach. Kill Ulrich and she'll be allllll yours. Just let me help you, and everybody wins! Well, except for everyone who isn't you. But they don't count,_" the Voice added.

"_No way! I won't do it!_" I said.

"_But it's such a good plan! I – I mean, we – took so long to come up with it! It would be the perfect crime! C'mon, at least hear me out…_" it pleaded.

"Is this seat taken?" someone asked.

The voice poofed out of my head. I looked up, to see a girl my age looking down at me. She had reddish brown hair that reached her waist, and eyes the color of sapphire. She looked strangely like someone I knew, though I didn't know who it was.

I realized that she was gesturing to the bench I was sitting on. "Eh, it's all yours," I said, getting up and walking away.

"Hey, wait!" she called, catching up to me and walking by my side. "I saw you in the emergency room. You go to Kadic, don't you?"

I kept my eyes straight ahead. I didn't want to have company right then. "Yes. And you are?"

"My name's Rhiné, my mom works here in the ER. You're Odd Della Robbia, aren't you? I've seen you at school before, but we don't have any classes together do we?"

My eyes turned to her face again for a moment, but then, just as quickly, I flicked them away. "No, we don't," I said, trying to get her to realize that I was in a bad mood and didn't want to hang out. "Look, I kind of have to go. Bye," I said, sounding a bit colder than I had intended.

Regardless of the ice in my tone, she didn't take a hint, and kept following me. "Well are you going to the dance tonight? Maybe I'll see you there," she said.

"No," I said plainly, picking up the pace and leaving her behind.

-------------------------------

**Ulrich's P.O.V.**

Yumi's cold, wet tears on my shoulder were not comforting. Sitting on my lap with her arms around my neck, she wept into me like I was one of those Extra-Large Kleenexes. We had spoken very little all morning, and when we did, our conversations were always the same – depressing, and unhelpful. So we spent it holding each other, and she spent it crying. Her tears would always go away for a while, and then come back a little later.

The truth was, I was ready to cry too. Today had been… well, _weird_ to say the least. First Odd was acting strangely (not that that's very uncommon for our purple-loving eccentric friend, but this was different), and then Aelita just goes out cold in the hallway, which really scared us. And now I'm here, with Yumi in my arms, as she cries all over me. Yumi never cries. And when she does, it's serious.

"_God, is **anyone** going to come out and tell us about what's going on with Aelita?!_" I wondered. It had been hours and no one had come out to tell us anything about her condition. I mean, we already knew what was wrong with her. But we wanted to know if she was going to be alright. The long wait wasn't making us very confident.

Just then, as if my thoughts themselves had willed someone to come to us, the ER doors opened, and a woman in green and white surgical scrubs who was maybe in her late thirties waltzed up to us. The woman had short hair that was red enough to catch your eye but not enough to make you think that it couldn't be her real color. She was tall and slender, and her face seemed almost childish, like a young girl's, but her eyes seemed old and wise; they had obviously seen many things, after all, she worked in an emergency room.

"Hi, are you the people who found this Aelita girl?" she asked.

Yumi looked up at her. "Yeah, that's us," she said, forcing any evidence that she had been crying out of her voice.

"Well, we're really sorry for the wait, but this place has been pretty active today. You can go see her now, if you want," the doctor said.

Yumi got off of me, and I stood up. Immediately I realized how stiff I was. I stretched, and then we followed the woman into the back of the ER.

As soon as we were behind the double doors that the doctor had first emerged from, she spoke again. "My name is Dr. Bachelder. I'm the one in charge of Aelita," she informed us. "There has been some confusion at the cause of her illness, but we can talk about that after you see her. I mean, if you want, of course."

Yumi and I exchanged glances. This would be hard. If we didn't supply the doctors with information, Aelita's life would be at risk. But we couldn't exactly tell them about her virus either.

"Does she have any other family? We haven't contacted anyone about this," the woman continued.

Shit. What would we say?

"Uh, no, Aelita's an orphan. My mom and dad take care of her. We're her foster family," Yumi said, hoping that would work.

Nice one, Yumi. I just hoped the doctor wouldn't press her about it.

"Oh, I see. Should I contact your parents, then?" Dr. Bachelder asked.

"No, that's ok, I'll do it," Yumi said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

I think God was in a good mood that day, because it was then that the three of us stopped walking, and the doctor didn't make Yumi answer any more questions.

"Alright," said Dr. Bachelder. She opened the door to the room we had stopped by, allowing us to step inside. "You go see her now, and I'll tell you about her condition after you're done." She gave us a warm smile, closed the door behind us, and then walked back the way we had come, presumably to the main desk.

Inside the small room, Aelita lay on a bed, with tubes sticking out of her mouth and nose, and all kinds of wires attached to her. An IV cord ran into her arm.

I did my best to suppress the lump in my throat. Seeing Aelita like this was such a pitiful sight. I was half expecting her to just wake up and say hello to us, in her usual cheerful manor. But it didn't happen.

Yumi and I walked over to Aelita's bedside. She took the girl's hand. "Aelita?" Yumi's voice was once again stifled with sobs. "Aelita?" she said once more, as if by saying her name enough she could wake her up. "Oh Ulrich…" Yumi let go of Aelita's hand and threw herself at me, and I caught her in a gentle hug.

I felt her tears falling onto my shoulder once again, her trembling form in my arms. I didn't know if I could comfort her or not, and was afraid to say the wrong thing. So I didn't say anything at all.

For a moment, it was silent, except for the beeping of Aelita's heart monitor, and the sound of Yumi crying softly into me. Then she pulled away to look at my face, with puffy red eyes.

"I…I told her it would all be okay…" she whispered, before leaning into me again.

* * *

PBS…er… I mean, this fic is made possible by viewers like you! Thanks to everyone, and keep reading! (And remember to send lots of reviews!) 


	7. Une Déchirure Finale

**A/N:** HOLY CRAP. I haven't updated in a while, have I? That's sad. Well, to make up for that, this chapter is kind of long… oO;;

In this chapter, Odd is listening to a song. I made that song. Is it crappy? Definitely. But can you steal it? No way! So yes, the song is © me, just so ya know. Oh, and my character Rhiné (though she isn't in this chapter) is also © me.

Unfortunately, Code Lyoko is not mine, so don't sue me. I'm poor, damnit! :-)

Well anyways, here it is. This chapter is dedicated to my favorite teacher, Mrs. B. May she rest in peace.

----------------------------

-7-

**Ulrich's P.O.V.**

"Aelita here has been showing symptoms consistent with a severe head injury, and she is also displaying very abnormal brain wave patterns. There are some other oddities, but at this point, nothing seems to fit together, so we just can't tell what's wrong," Dr. Bachelder told us. Her eyes darted up from Aelita's medical chart every now and then to look at our faces, which I'm sure possessed expressions she'd seen many times before; grief, and fear. I was sure she'd done this a million times before. Though there was a hint of sadness in her face as she told us about Aelita, there was a competing look of indifference, I think.

I wondered how many people she took into this office every day to tell them the news of whatever's wrong. How many faces she saw, just like ours.

The three of us were in Dr. Bachelder's office. Yumi and I sat in two chairs, and the Doctor sat behind her desk. On the walls of the surprisingly large office were diplomas, certifying her level of education. On the flat, wooden surface of her desk sat a computer, with one of those fancy new flat-screen monitors. A few picture frames were perched near the computer, and, though they were facing away from us, I assumed they showcased photographs of her family. Also on her desk, a large plant spewed leafy tentacles off of the edge and halfway to the floor. The entire office would have been sterile and blank, much like a classroom, if it wasn't for a strange homey feel to it. Something in the atmosphere set it apart from most offices.

Remembering that the doctor was talking, I tuned in again.

"…And so we aren't sure how to diagnose, much less treat Aelita," Dr. Bachelder's voice was serious. It held, perhaps, the trace of a sigh in it. "We're… still using a few methods, but we aren't sure of what the results will be. For now, we just have to keep our fingers crossed."

I got a distinct feeling from this doctor. That she cared for Aelita. That was rare, I knew. Most doctors brush their patients aside, just awaiting a paycheck. I silently thanked whatever force had allowed Aelita to be in such good hands.

Yumi nodded her head slowly.

The doctor continued to talk about the specifics of what she was doing with Aelita… using words so big and strange, that they almost sounded like they were from another language.

I managed to turn my eyes over to Yumi. She seemed to understand what the doctor was saying.

Looking back at the doctor, I saw her put a hand to her head, brushing away the thick bangs covering her forehead for a single instant.

I nearly gasped.

I swore that for the single moment I saw the flesh hidden under her coat of hair, I saw Xana's symbol underneath.

Doing my best to hide that I had seen – or thought I had seen – what I did, I gulped and looked over at Yumi once again. Her eyes were slightly wider, and her face wore suspicion and alarm all over it, in a way that I was sure only I could have recognized. Yumi had obviously seen the same thing I had. I shuddered inwardly, knowing that the fact that she had apparently seen it too only meant that I couldn't have been simply imagining it.

"Well, I'm very sorry, but if you'll excuse me, I have some patients to attend to. You never get to take a break in a place like this," she told us, as she rose from her chair.

We did too, and the three of us stumbled out of the room wordlessly.

Yumi and I left the emergency room. As soon as we walked out the door, a jolt went through us; both shock from the sudden decrease in temperature, and the startling transition from having been in a stuffy room for hours to the openness of the world outside.

After a moment of us standing ridged, waiting for the shock to pass us by, I finally managed to say, "What the hell just happened?"

Yumi looked over at me. "I have no idea. Could she possibly be…?"

"I hope not… but… how? And why?"

"I don't know!" Yumi exclaimed in exasperation.

I raked a hand through my hair, to discover it was unusually messy. "It doesn't matter… not right now anyway. C'mon Yumi, I'll walk you home."

Yumi shook her head. "I need some time alone. I just want to walk around by myself for a while, okay?" she must have seen a look in my face that worried her, so she quickly added, "It's not you, I promise. It's just…"

"I know. But could I walk you home anyway? I'd feel a lot better," I said.

"It's okay, Ulrich. Besides, it makes more sense for you to go back to school and check on Odd… and then maybe try to knock some sense into Jeremie. And if you can do that, then try to talk to them about what happened," she said.

I sighed. "You're right. I guess I'll see you later," I said.

She started to walk away.

"Yumi, wait," I called. She slowly turned to face me in response.

I walked over to her, and took one of her hands in my own. Her soft fingers were as cold as ice. "Remember, Yumi…" I trailed off, as I was lost in her eyes for a moment, and didn't know how to finish my sentence. Gathering myself, I came back to reality. "Remember, that I'm always here for you. I love you, Yumi. And I need you to tell me if something's bothering you that you haven't talked about."

A final tear slid down her cheek. "I know," she said, giving my hand a squeeze, and then turning, once again, to walk away from me.

----------------------------

**Odd's P.O.V.**

I sat on my bed, with my legs pulled up to my chest, my bare feet lightly tapping out a rhythm to the rock song I was listening to. My headphones were blasting the music into my head so loud that I couldn't feel my face.

Well, no, not really. But that's a cool way to phrase it, anyway.

"_Now that I have seen you here,_

_I realize my deepest fear._

_You're with him, I can't stand it._

_I won't take this shit._

_I'VE HAD ENOUGH!_

_I never knew_

_I never knew_

_How much I wanted you_

_But now that you're not in my grasp_

_I'm just a thing of the past_

_I never knew_

_I never knew_

_How you were there when I was blue_

_Just how much you mean to me_

_Before this, I could never see._

_I know now how I've been so naive._

_But this I can clearly perceive._

_I'll never be enough for you._

_There's nothing I can do._

_Still,_

_I'VE HAD ENOUGH!_

_I'VE HAD ENOUGH!_

_I never knew._

_I never knew._

…_And that's why you should listen to me!_"

Huh? That's not how the song ends…

I took my headphones off.

"_Back again. And I have ideas. You should listen to me, that's what I was saying_."

"_You again! Leave me alone!_" I told the annoying voice in my head.

"_Don't you think that way. You have a million reasons to be doing this. Now get up, boy!_"

"_It ain't gonna happen, you stupid voice!_" But, to my surprise, as I thought these things, my legs, without my doing, moved themselves off of my bed, and forced me into standing upright.

"_That's more like it. Now MOVE! GO! NOW! Over to the desk!!_" the Voice ordered.

My legs moved themselves over to my desk, just like what had happened that morning. The pocketknife I had nearly assaulted Ulrich with, lay innocently in its usual place.

"_Get the knife._"

My arm shot forward, and my fingers wrapped around the small object.

"_Now go to the place where you think Ulrich might go next…And wait for him there. You must understand that this is right. You have no choice now, anyway._"

"_But I…_" I started, walking back my bed and sitting down lightly on it, staring at the knife in my hands.

"_Odd, have you ever stopped to think that maybe Ulrich never even liked you as a friend?_" the Voice asked.

"_But Ulrich is my friend… isn't he?_"

"_I don't know, Odd. Is he? How many times have you been in Lyoko and he was willing to protect Aelita and Yumi but not you? How many times has he allowed you to be devirtualized? How many times has he turned his back on you in the real world, Odd? How many times? You think he wants you for a friend? When he looks at you, all he sees is a purple-wearing freak!_"

My eyes widened. I tried my hardest not to believe what this voice was saying.

"_What about Jeremie, Odd? Do you think Ulrich cares about Jeremie? He doesn't! He only hangs out with you two to be closer to Yumi. He likes Yumi, Odd. But he doesn't give a shit about you or Jeremie. Now what kind of friend is that, huh?_"

I didn't try to fight anymore. A few tears were running down my face, mixing with some tiny sweat droplets forming on my skin, and running down onto my pants.

"_If you do this, Odd, you will be helping Jeremie as well. You have to understand that. This is why I am your partner, Odd. I'll always be there for you. Unlike Ulrich, I will always help you when you need me._"

I gulped.

"_Do it, Odd. Do it._"

I got off of my bed and opened the door of my room, and stepped out into the corridor. The cool figure of the knife in my hands, I began walking away to where I knew I'd find Ulrich.

Ulrich, I was sure, was going to die today. I could already imagine the feeling of his blood on my fingers as he would fall to the floor, unable to go on.

And I was ready.

----------------------------

**Jeremie's P.O.V.**

The sick green carpet on my floor was itchy against my skin. Why I was lying on the floor and not my bed, I didn't know.

I looked over at my wall. Einstein stared back at me.

I took off my glasses, and put them beside me. Then I closed my eyes, and tried to clear everything out of my mind. Aelita, my friends, my schoolwork. I told myself how none of it mattered.

A knock sounded at the door. I opened one eye, and sat up, jamming my glasses back onto my face.

"Jeremie? Are you in there? It's Ulrich," came a muffled voice from behind my door.

I sat for a moment, wondering if I wanted to talk to Ulrich or not. Finally I decided on a course of action. "I'm here," I said, in such a soft voice that it was almost a whisper.

Ulrich must have heard it though, because he then said, "Can I come in?"

I got onto my feet and opened the door. Ulrich stood there. "Hi, Ulrich," I said, letting him into my dorm.

He walked inside, kicked off his shoes, and plopped down onto my bed. I closed the door and sat down in my desk chair.

"Listen, Jeremie," Ulrich began.

I immediately knew where this was going. "Look, Aelita and I broke up. I'm not looking for the anti-virus anymore. And nothing you can say is going to make me want to start looking for it again."

Ulrich looked down. "Well then you could at least go see her. If nothing I can say will change your mind, then you need to go look at Aelita. She's… not doing so hot," Ulrich mumbled.

"Nope. I can't. Aelita and I are through. I won't do it," I said.

Anger was visible on Ulrich's face. "So you'll let her die over some stupid fight you two got into?" He stood up. "Is that what this is?"

I took a deep breath. "Yes. And it wasn't a stupid fight."

He marched over to the door, and opened it. As soon as he was in the doorway, he looked back at me. "You know what, Jeremie? We started doing this whole Lyoko thing _for_ Aelita. And for you. If it wasn't for the fact that we all love Aelita, and you at least _used_ to have something special for her, we would have shut the place down right when we found it. But we didn't. We went there and fought for her, and for you. We've saved the world from Xana countless times just so that Aelita could still be with us," Ulrich stated. He was on a roll now. "And yet, you're willing to just throw all of that away. I believed in you, Jeremie. You're smarter than all of the students at this school combined. With your genius, I was confident that Aelita would live to be able to stay here on Earth with us. But if this is how it is, and you won't even go see her anymore, then I guess instead of the promising intelligent guy I thought you were, you're just as cold as Xana."

Ulrich slammed the door behind him.

I continued to stare at place Ulrich had been just seconds ago.

I tried to feel the anger that I was sure should have been boiling in my blood. But instead I felt something different – completely different.

Guilt.

--------------------------

**Ulrich's P.O.V.**

I was so upset because of what Jeremie had said that I had forgotten to go check on Odd. In fact, I didn't actually know where I was going. My feet seemed to move themselves. It was as though if I stopped, I might do something unexpected, like break down crying, or something far more stupid and permanent. So I continued to just walk along at a brisk pace to an unknown destination.

I walked past Sissi and her group of friends. She was talking to some other girls on her cheerleading squad.

"Oh hello Ulrich dear!" the principal's daughter sang, spinning around to face me so that her hair flipped like those girls in the shampoo commercials.

She gasped when she saw my face, which I'm sure was contorted with rage.

"Leave me the fuck alone," I mumbled, passing her by without another word. I broke into a run after leaving her behind.

I had already gotten off of school grounds when I realized I was out of breath from trying to run and cry all at once. But that didn't stop me. I ran into the forest, my lungs aching for air, and my muscles burning angrily. Finally I tripped over a protruding tree root, and fell flat on my face.

I think I just lay there without moving or attempting to get myself up for five minutes. The only thing running through my mind was that Jeremie was going to let Aelita die. I couldn't believe it. Aelita was going to _die_, truly and for real! It couldn't be fixed with a simple reversal of time, or some fancy medical techniques. She was just going to die. And that was it.

Finally I picked myself up and trudged over to the manhole. I didn't know why I was going there, but I felt almost as though I might find answers at the factory. And even if I didn't, I could just be alone for a while.

I climbed down the rungs leading underground. My hands, which were already bruised and scratched from my fall, stung as the tiny shards of rust cut into my palm.

Reaching the ground, I noted that Odd's skateboard was gone. I shrugged it off though, after all, that was the least of my worries right now. I grabbed my own skateboard and pushed my way off to the factory.

I once again winced in pain as my hands were greeted by the rust of the rungs leading up to the manhole on the bridge. As I climbed, I left bloody handprints on everything I touched. But I didn't care.

I reached the top, and walked across the bridge. When I got into the factory, I took a rope hanging from the ceiling and flung myself down onto the floor below.

I was about to enter the elevator when a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Hi Ulrich," Odd said.

I whirled around. Odd was walking towards me with a strange look on his face.

I let out a breath of air. "Oh, hi Odd. You scared me, man," I said.

Odd didn't respond. He only stood there, looking at me.

"Well, uh, Odd, Yumi and I got to go see Aelita… you might want to see her too. The doctor taking care of her said she's not doing very well. Oh, and something else weird happened today, it concerns Aelita's doctor… maybe you should come up to the super calculator room and we can talk."

Odd walked up to me until he was just a few feet away. A huge grin spread across his face. "Shut up, Ulrich," he said plainly.

I shook my head, almost like I hadn't heard what he said. "What?"

A look of apathy washing over his features, Odd brought out a pocketknife.

"W-what are you doing, Odd?" I asked, taking a step backwards.

"This is for me and Jer, Ulrich." Odd said, thrusting the knife at me.

I dodged it, and grasped the side of the elevator to keep from falling over. "Odd, what the hell? We're buddies!" I exclaimed.

"Don't make me laugh, Ulrich. You never wanted me for a friend, you piece of crap. You know, I thought you were cool, once upon a time. But now I know the truth about you."

He swung the knife one more time, and I pressed my eyes shut, waiting for the metal blade to slice open my skin.

----------------------------

**A/N:** Oh no, another cliffy! Well, reviews help to get me motivated to update faster… nudgenudgewinkwink

P.S. – If you find grammar/spelling mistakes in here, please please please don't yell at me for them. I suck at typing, and I'm really not in the mood to go through and search for typos right now. I will get around to fixing them eventually, but that might take time. Thanks. You guys are great.


	8. Never Say It'll All Be Okay

Hey. It's been far too long. (This really, really isn't my fault… I promise. The reason why I haven't been updating is a really long story that would bore you all to death before you even got to the actual fic…)

Okay, well, because I know how annoying it is when someone stops updating for a really long time and then randomly pops up and you've completely forgotten what's going on in their fic, here is **the story so far…** all for your benefit and so that you don't have to go back and read the earlier chapters.

**Aelita is materialized, but she has this virus, which has mutated from what it originally was to a new program, that is basically killing her whether she's on Earth or on Lyoko, so they just decided to keep her on Earth. However, things get worse: Jeremie and Aelita are fighting (it all started because Jeremie was angry that Aelita hadn't told him that she knew her virus had changed until much later) and Jeremie is really fried at her. (And also vice-versa… read the other chappies if you've forgotten why Aelita's so pissed.) Also, Yumi and Ulrich are suspicious of Aelita's doctor, who's hair covers up what they think may be the symbol of Xana… **

**Also, Odd has been hearing voices that are commanding him to do something pretty serious… to kill Ulrich! Last chapter we left off with Ulrich and Odd in the factory, the purple-haired boy about to mince Ulrich up with a pocketknife!**

…**What will happen now?!**

------------------------------------

**Jeremie's P.O.V.**

The sound of my footsteps on the floor of the hospital were almost startling. I hadn't actually been out of my dorm for a long time, and the only noise I was used to was the low humming of my computer, which was always on.

But after Ulrich's visit, I knew he was right, even though I would never be able to admit it to him. I did need to go see Aelita. And it would all be okay after that.

I stopped at the desk in front of the Intensive Care Unit, and a young woman in a pink nurses' uniform looked up at me.

"Uh… is Aelita here?" I asked clumsily.

"Last name?" the woman inquired, typing something into the computer in front of her.

"Um, Lyoko… maybe…" I hoped that that was the name Aelita had been admitted under.

"Yes, she's in room 206. It's right down the hall," the woman said with a small smile.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"Oh, and sir? One more thing," she said as I began walking away. "Visiting hours end in twenty minutes, so you'll have to hurry up, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," I said, and then turned around again and walked away from the desk.

"_207…207…Oh, there it is_," I thought to myself, as my eyes scanned the room numbers and finally found what they were looking for. I took a deep breath, opened the heavy door, and walked inside.

The room behind the door was completely white. A lone window let in a little bit of light, but the world beyond the sparkling-clean glass was almost more depressing than the emotionless little room this girl who was once nothing more than a computer program was bound to.

I took a deep breath, pushed my glasses back up my nose, and focused on the still form in front of me.

On a bed with white sheets, Aelita lay there, not moving. Her hair was tangled, and her breath came out slowly and steadily. The only thing disturbing the quiet of the room was her heart monitor, which beeped at an unhurried pace. She seemed so… unlike she usually was. Though of course I recognized her face, it was as if she was a different person. Warm smiles and glittering eyes were replaced by a look of nothing; cold, uncaring, nearly dead.

I felt my own heart begin to race, and tears formed in my eyes. "Oh my god, Aelita…" I breathed. This was not what I had wanted for her. And yet, it was still all my fault.

The sickening sensation one gets just before they vomit met my stomach. Turning, I threw open the door, and flung myself out into the hallway. Running as fast as I could, I tried to force the lump in my throat away. Nurses walking calmly along would raise their eyebrows at me, but I didn't care.

As soon as I was on the ground floor, I tore out of the emergency room and sped away from the disturbing scene I had witnessed in Aelita's room. I couldn't take it. And, as usual, I was too weak to keep myself together.

I had been running longer and faster in the direction of the school than I had ever done before. Legs like lead, lungs like fire, I could no longer take it. Stopping, I gasped and wheezed, each intense breath of air not enough. I could no longer hold off my tears, and they streamed down my face, leaving freezing wet streaks on my flesh and clothing and everything else they landed on.

As soon as I could bear taking another step, I began walking back to the school like before.

After what seemed like hours of making little progress in getting to my destination, I finally yanked open the door to Kadic, and made my way back down the hallway to my dorm.

I was finally there. Once I got into my dorm, I'd dive onto my bed and try to forget it all… under warm bed sheets and the comforting familiar feeling of my own room.

I was about to unlock my dorm and go inside, when I noticed something on the floor. I squatted, and picked it up.

It was a book, black, and unmarked on the outside. It was maybe three inches by two.

I pushed my glasses into place, and opened it.

"What the… it looks like a diary or something…" I whispered.

Looking around to see if anyone was watching me, I stood up and opened the door to my room. Once inside, I closed and locked the door. Then I sat on my bed and opened the book again.

"I suppose I could read just one entry, just to see if I can figure out who this belongs to so that I can give it back to them…" I said aloud. Even though I knew it was wrong to read someone's diary without permission, I was really sort of curious to see what the mystery person had to say.

'_May 25th, 2004_

_It feels so wonderful to be alive! I have decided to start keeping a diary. I got the idea from Ulrich. I saw him writing one day and I asked him what he was doing. He blushed and put the book he was writing in away, but then he said it was a diary and please don't tell people he keeps one. I laughed and I agreed, as long as he would explain to me what it is and how to use it. He told me and I thought it sounded like a good idea. So I went to a convenience store and bought this little book. I'm not exactly sure if I am doing this right, and it feels a little awkward writing like this. Maybe I should ask Ulrich if I am doing it right. Ah well, that is for another day. For now, I will just be happy I that am here._'

My eyes widened. I began to have a theory about who the diary belonged to… though I didn't know for sure. So, I decided I had better read another entry.

'_July 6th, 2004_

_Goodness. Last time I was able to write in this thing, I learned that I couldn't stay with my beloved forever like we had planned. I had to hide my diary in Yumi's house until the next time I could use it. I found out that I am bonded to my own world by Xana…_'

"Oh my god, it IS Aelita's diary!" I whispered. "Well now that I know I should stop reading. Aelita wouldn't want me to…" I stopped talking when I realized that I was reading even when I was telling myself not to. "Oh well, maybe it would be okay to finish this entry…"

'…_and must remain in Lyoko until the only one I truly love can find a way to free me._'

I blushed.

'_Jeremie is the most important person in my life. I asked Yumi why I feel so strongly about him, and she said it was because I love him. I guess I do love him. He so amazing… and when I kissed him it felteven moreamazing… I will never forget that…I only hope with all of my heart that he feels the same way…_'

New tears began forming in my eyes.

"_Okay. One more entry. Just one more_," I decided. I flipped ahead, looking for more recent entries. I wanted to know if Aelita still felt this way about me. I needed to know.

'_October 22nd, 2004_

_Here I am, back in the real world again for a visit. I am fortunate that Xana has not been active lately, meaning that my life has not been endangered – yet. Ulrich, Odd, Jeremie, and Yumi are all just waiting though; I can see it in their eyes… for Xana's newest plot against this world. I can feel him even here on this planet. I know he is going to do something… and I know that it will be his most horrific attack yet._

_Jeremie has been working day and night looking for the anti-virus. I came to Earth to tell him in person that he should stop overworking himself and get some sleep. After all, sleep is an amazing feeling that I should think Jeremie would want to enjoy as much as possible, given that, unlike myself, he has the ability to experience it whenever he wishes. I love him and am worried about him. Very worried. I am going to tell him to stop looking for the anti-virus some time, though I haven't been able to lately. I feel bad asking him to stop. I know he wants me to be able to remain here on Earth, but if it means that he should suffer for me I will not have it. When Xana attacks, I am willing to allow myself to be deleted in order to save his world. It means too much to too many people. I am just a computer program, after all. I do not matter._

_Should I not go on, I will state now that I love Jeremie more than anything, except for maybe pepperoni pizza. Just kidding! I love him much more than pizza. And I want him to live on, even if it means he shall live on without me._'

I smiled at the last part, but my happiness faded quickly. "No, Aelita," I whispered, choking on my words. As if she were there, I said, "I will live on, but only if you are there with me."

-------------------------

**Yumi's P.O.V.**

"ODD! NO!" I screamed. Standing on the floor above my two friends, about fifty feet up, I leaned over the edge of the railing feeling helpless to stop Odd from hurting Ulrich.

Odd looked up. "No," he said.

"Odd, you have to! You aren't yourself! It's Xana!!" I cried.

"No it isn't! All Ulrich cares about is you, Yumi! He doesn't care about me or Jeremie!" Odd burst, still holding the knife above Ulrich, ready to cut him.

"That's not true, Odd. You're my best friend! And you know it," Ulrich squeaked.

"Yes it is. And you're not my friend. You never were. Xana has nothing to do with this," Odd spat. The spike of hair on the back of his head shook a little bit as he said that, almost seeming to agree with him. "That's why I have to do this," Odd said. He swung at Ulrich with the knife.

"NO!" I yelled, squeezing my eyes shut.

A moment later I heard Ulrich call out to me. "I'm ok, Yumi…" Opening my eyes, I saw that Odd had severed his hand in the place right in between his thumb and fingers.

"Odd, stop it, please! This is Xana's doing, not yours! You have to try and remember that you and Ulrich are best friends, and that we all love you, Odd. I love you. I don't want this! Please don't hurt him any more!"

Odd looked up at me. "You what?"

"I love you Odd, and I care about your safety," I said, barely loud enough for them to hear.

"You do?" Odd asked.

"Yes Odd, I do."

Odd lowered the knife.

Ulrich spoke up. "She's right, Odd, you aren't being yourself."

Odd stiffened again with anger, and re-positioned his knife. "SHUT UP!" he yelled.

"Odd, no!" I yelled.

"ODD! Odd." Ulrich began.

"What?!" Odd asked.

"Odd, come on. Think about all of the times we've spent together. Remember when we tricked Sissi into going to the garden shed where Herb and Kiwi jumped on her? Or all the times in Lyoko when we've tricked Xana's monsters together? Without you I couldn't have killed them by myself," Ulrich said.

Odd looked like he was about to cry. Though he didn't appear as angry as before, he still held the knife in the same place.

"Come on, Odd, you're better than this! I know you are," I called.

Odd's face went to a look of confusion. He didn't say anything, but instead dropped his knife on the floor of the factory and ran away, out the door.

Silence.

Finally I remembered Ulrich and I broke out of my trance. "Ulrich! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm coming up. Meet me by the supercalculator," he said. I heard him smack the 'up' button on the elevator after clambering inside it.

-----------------------------

**Odd's P.O.V.**

I dashed out of the factory, and ran all the way back to school. I sprinted across campus, passing students and teachers alike. I'm pretty sure Jim was yelling at me to stop, but I didn't. I couldn't.

I darted behind the doors of the school. Something was seriously wrong here. I had just cut my best friend with a pocketknife. Or had I? The whole experience seemed blurred and weird, the way you remember a bad dream after having just woken up from one.

It took me a moment before I realized where I was. Where was I supposed to go now? The whole time I was outside running, all I was thinking about was getting inside. Now that I was there, I didn't know where to go. Back to the dorm? No way. It would remind me too much of Ulrich and what I had done to him. To Jeremie's dorm? No, if Yumi and Ulrich came looking for me, they would know to find me there.

Dazed and confused, I ducked into a classroom that wasn't in use. I closed the door behind me, and just stood, looking around stupidly. Finally I walked over to one of the desks and sat down in the chair, out of impulse. I put my head down, and buried it in my arms.

"What have I done?" I asked myself, out loud.

Completely still, I sat there contemplating everything. Wondering why, and how. All I had were questions, and none of them had answers.

I heard the classroom door open and close, which brought me out of my thoughts. I might have looked up to see who it was, but the truth was, I didn't care. I assumed it was Yumi or Ulrich, or maybe Jeremie.

"Odd?"

Definitely not Ulrich or Jeremie. And unless Yumi was throwing her voice, it wasn't her either.

"Go away," I said, without lifting my head.

"Odd, it's me, Rhiné. Do you remember me from earlier today?"

I looked up. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" I asked, sounding a lot like I had just woken up.

Rhiné brushed a piece of long red hair behind her ear. "Well, I looked in the classroom and you happened to be in here… and I wanted to know what was up," she said softly.

"Well, for starters, I just cut my best friend with a pocketknife. You still want to be here? I'm violent," I said matter-of-factly. Maybe if I scared her, she would go away.

"You bet. You look kind of sad. Wanna talk?" she asked, popping her bubble gum and prancing over to me, where she proceeded to sit in the chair beside me.

I rubbed my forehead and tried to look bored with her. "No I don't want to talk. Now will you please just go away?"

"Hey, that's no way to treat a girl. Come on. Something's really bothering you. Now spit it out," she said, grinning.

"You're in, what, the sixth grade and you're trying to cheer me up?" I asked, still not looking at her.

"Seventh. Now come on, no one else is going to try and help. I know you want to talk, Odd. And I'm not leaving until you do," she declared, crossing her arms over her chest.

I rolled my eyes.

She chewed her gum harder, and her dark blue eyes wouldn't leave me. "You can start by looking back at me," she said.

"Fuck you."

"Hey, don't say that. Come on. Just look at me. Please? You'll feel a lot better," she said.

I still wouldn't look at her.

Finally she sighed, reached over, grabbed by chin, and forced my head to move her way.

"Ok, I'm looking at you now. Are happy?" I asked.

What I would never admit was that Rhiné WAS kind of pretty. For a seventh grader, anyway. She was wearing a big orange coat that went down to her knees, and a little black skirt that matched her shirt, which was half hidden by her coat. Her hands, which were playing with a piece of her hair, had black fingerless gloves on them. Very… anime.

But I still couldn't shake the feeling that I knew someone who looked a lot like her. I just could pin down who that was…

"No, now you have to talk," she said, and then blew a bubble as big as her head, which popped, without spilling the pink sticky substance all over her face.

I sighed. "Fine."

A huge smile spread across her face.

"Well, see, my best friend is going out with this girl I like… and… I don't know… I guess it just sort of bothers me…" I began.

"Oh, so you're jealous?" Rhiné interrupted.

"No, I'm not jealous! Look, do you want me to tell you what's wrong or not?"

"Sorry, go on."

"Well anyway I just haven't…been…myself lately… I guess. And my friend doesn't seem to really care about me anymore. It's all about Yu…err, his girlfriend."

Rhiné's eyes lit up. "Oh, are you talking about Ulrich Stern?" she giggled. "Yeah, every girl in the whole school seems to have a crush on him. Some of them are really jealous that he apparently likes Yumi. I don't have a crush on Ulrich though, I like someone else," she babbled, chewing on a strand of her hair in between sentences.

I coughed.

"Sorry!" she said, still laughing.

"Uh, yeah," I said, giving her a look.

"So basically what you're saying is that your best friend is dating the girl you like, and you're jeal…I mean, that bothers you, because he only pays attention to Yumi and not you?"

"I guess so," I said.

"And you stabbed him or whatever because of that?"

"Look, it was an accident! I didn't mean to! I swear!" I said, trying to keep myself from crying.

Her face softened. It was no longer playful and happy, but serious. She leaned over and put her arms around me. "It's ok, Odd. Things will work out," she said softly.

I would have pushed her away, but I didn't. Why, I don't know.

And so we just sat there, holding one another, for I don't know how long.

--------------------------------

Cute. :P

Now, tell me. This fic doesn't have sex or drugs or anything like that in it... but they do swear a lot. Do you think I should change the rating to R? I don't know if I should, but someone said it should be R rated. But, you're the readers, and you guys are the ones that matter. So, what do YOU guys think? :)


	9. A Glimmer of Hope

The ninth chapter... it's almost over! Ack! Well, anyway, some of you expressed concerns about the fact that Jeremie seemed a little OOC for getting as mad as he did at Aelita. And you're absolutely right! Just read on and you shall see what's actually going on...

Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to dantheman7777... my 60th reviewer! Woot!

(Oh, and I'm not changing this to R.)

* * *

9 

**Ulrich's P.O.V.**

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, Yumi rushed over to me.

"Are you alright? Let me see your hand…" she said. As if I had a choice. Taking my arm lightly, she brought my hand up so she could examine it.

"It's not so bad," I told her.

"Damn it Ulrich, this cut almost goes to your bone! Of course it's so bad… you might have to get stitches on it," she informed me, her eyebrows curving into a look of worry.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not. Come over and sit in the master chair and I'll wrap it up," she said, taking my unwounded hand and leading me over to the place Jeremie would usually sit when sending us to Lyoko on a mission. She then knelt on the floor, by my feet. Picking up her book bag, she reached inside and pulled out a first aid kit. "I've started keeping one with me just in case Xana does something crazy and someone gets hurt," she explained.

"You don't have to do this, Yumi," I said.

She looked at me with intense, caring eyes. "I'd rather do it than not," she said. Turning her gaze back to the items in her hands, she put some cleaning liquid on a cotton ball, and began to dab the wet glob on my bloodied hand.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed as it touched me.

"Sorry…"

"It's okay," I whispered.

I winced as she began to touch my hand again with the stinging fluid, but didn't jump like last time. "So… what's up?" I asked.

She took the cotton ball off of my hand and laughed.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"It's just…"

"What?"

"Well, your best friend just assaulted you with a pocketknife, and all you can say is 'what's up'?" she giggled, and began cleaning my wound again.

"Well, what do you want me to say?" I smiled.

"I dunno," she trailed off as she began wrapping my hand in gauze. She then looked up at me and said, "Maybe you'd want to know why I told Odd he was acting strangely because of Xana?"

"Oh yeah. That. I was getting to that," I half-joked.

She got onto her feet and hit the enter key in front of me. "This might take some time to explain, it's sort of complicated," she said, her eyes never leaving the screen in front of her.

"I'm listening," I said, getting up so she could take the chair.

She stole a quick glance in my direction. Then she began to type in Jeremie's passwords on the computer. "It's a good thing I had to learn to operate this, that time when Jeremie tried to virtualize himself," The side of her mouth was tugged into a half-grin.

"Yeah…"

Her face became serious. "If I hadn't, you could be dead by now."

-

**Jeremie's P.O.V.**

I couldn't have hated myself more at that moment… the moment when I finally opened my eyes and realized that all of this was my fault. Everything. Aelita and I… we had something that I could never have replaced. Something that I would probably never have had again, anyway. After all, I'm just some loser nerd, right?

At least, once upon a time, I was something to her.

"_How could I have done this? How could I possibly have been so blind? Was I always this stupid?_" I asked myself, sitting on the side of my bed, gripping my head in my hands.

Envisioning Aelita, pale, cold, and soulless, being shoved into a body bag by the hospital staff made me sick. I could see this quite plainly though, haunting my thoughts, reminding me that it would probably happen just like that any time soon. I stared blankly at the floor below me, tears gathering in my eyes, beginning to block my vision. Squeezing them shut, the large drops of warm water fell onto my glasses, and then rolled onto the floor below me.

Suddenly, I whipped my head up, balled my hand into a fist, and brought it down on my bed with and unsatisfying and muffled _thunk_. "_So this is my only option… to cry about it. Damn it! I could be saving Aelita's life right now!_"

I looked over at my computer. "_Maybe there's still time_."

-

**Ulrich's P.O.V.**

"See these blue lines on your profile? They represent your life force when in Lyoko. They're flat right now because you're on Earth. Whereas Aelita-" Yumi pulled up a new window with Aelita's profile on it. "-Aelita's lines are squiggly because she's bound to Lyoko no matter where she is. But there's something else here, it's red and connected to the lines," she pointed, and sure enough, the twisted blue lines belonging to Aelita faded into red.

"That's got something to do with her virus, right?" I assumed.

"Exactly. Xana is linked with her directly, and this is just one way of showing that," she said.

"Okay, but what does that have to do with Odd acting all weird and stuff?" I asked.

Yumi looked over at me quickly, and then back at the computer monitor. "I don't know how this is possible… but… somehow…" she pulled up Odd's profile.

My jaw dropped. His life force lines were identical to Aelita's. "But… then that means…"

"…That somehow Xana's gotten hold of him," Yumi told me, dead serious. "It gets worse."

I rubbed my forehead. "I'm not liking the sound of that."

Yumi said nothing, but only pulled up Jeremie's profile.

"What? Jeremie's got it too!" I yelled.

"…Sort of. I wouldn't have realized something's up with Jeremie unless I hadn't been thinking about all of this."

"All of what?"

"You know, this whole mess with Aelita… It's just felt weird. Jeremie rarely fights with _anyone_, and when he does, it has to be a much bigger deal then a tiny little issue of miscommunication…" she said, typing into the keyboard. "Anyway, I came here and did a little checking, and I found his profile on the computer."

"What's wrong with that?" I asked.

"Jeremie never goes to Lyoko. He's never even been successfully virtualized! He shouldn't _have_ a profile, that's what's wrong."

"I don't get it… how did Xana get him to fight with Aelita by making him a profile on the computer?" I asked, almost completely confused.

"I don't know exactly how it works, but I think the one time Jeremie tried to scan himself, Xana got the data from the scan and saved it… somehow he took Jeremie's data and used it to attach a low-level virus to it. Then, when he was brought back into the real world, that virus data was materialized along with him."

"But… that was so long ago! Are you saying he's had a virus all this time?"

"I think so. It could have just recently been activated though. That would make sense," she explained.

"How could it have been activated?"

"I have no idea," she admitted, rubbing her eye with a finger.

"Great…" I trailed, looking away, trying to make sense of all this new information.

Suddenly, something dawned on me. "Wait. But if Odd and Jeremie have both been infected… why haven't we?"

"I…I don't know. I can only do so much," Yumi responded.

I nodded. "In any case, we have to go find Odd now. If he is infected… there may not be anything keeping him from trying to hurt other people as well."

"Yes," she said quickly, her eyes dropping to her hands in her lap.

"Something wrong?"

"It's just that…" she began.

"What?" I asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"The… the way he looked at me when I told him I loved him… I've seen him look at me that way so much lately… I don't know, maybe it's nothing… It was just strange, that's all."

I reached down and took her hand. "He loves you too. I know he wishes he could be with you, Yumi. Who wouldn't though, right?" I laughed.

Yumi smiled, but then her eyelids dropped, my invitation to close the distance between us, where we shared a soft, sweet kiss.

-

**At the hospital…**

The door to Aelita's room swung open silently, and a figure stepped inside. It made its way over to her bedside, sat down, and took her warm hand in its own. It sat there for a moment, studying the motionless girl.

Two large warm tears fell from the figure's face onto Aelita's bed sheets. It then bent over, and planted a soft kiss on the pink-haired girl's forehead.

"It's gonna be alright, sweetheart. If he is truly the one for you, then you don't need to worry," it whispered, giving her hand a squeeze, before standing and walking over to the door. It turned to take one last look at Aelita. Lowering its head, it quickly turned back around, opened the door, and slipped out into the hallway, just as silently as it had come.

* * *

I'm not telling who the person who just went to see Aelita is, but it's not one of the Lyoko gang.

The tenth chapter will be really awesome, I promise! This one was a little slow, yes, but I'm only human. XD Anyhoo, review! Thanks!


	10. Unanswered Questions

This chapter is dedicated to Girl-Ulrich for being my 76th reviewer.

There's only a couple more chapters left now, so be sure to RR. Thanks. :D

**Aelita's P.O.V.**

Silence.

I felt as if I were defying gravity, floating, but feeling heavy nonetheless. Hanging in the air was more like it. But I was at peace. It was as if time had stopped, and the world around me was embracing me gently.

The spot on my forehead where the warm feeling of a kiss had met it felt as if it were glowing. What did kisses mean again? That someone cared about you…right? It made me happy. Someone cared.

I opened my eyes. Immediately I recognized where I was, and I felt my toes touch the soft soil beneath me. A carpet of red and green and white stretched out before me in all directions, waving and dancing beneath the gently warm sun. I remembered this place from my dream, the peaceful place.

But then I remembered Jeremie.

My heart sank. I didn't want to be here.

Step, step. A warm summer wind whipped past me, tugging at my hospital gown gently, ruffling my hair. And I sensed something else behind me. A presence that was neither human nor object.

I turned to find a boy who looked to be perhaps fifteen in human years, standing in the flowers. He simply wore a blue t-shirt with jeans, and his hair was dark brown, impossible to tell the exact length because it was so messy. His face was perfect, each feature exactly the right size and shape and in exactly the right spot. His eyes were red, and the irises were replaced by a very familiar symbol. My mind flashed back to my dream for the smallest of moments, and I remembered Xana's symbol blocking out the sun. That symbol and the one in his eye matched, and both seemed to burn like those awful cigarettes that people on Earth smoke.

"Hello, Aelita," his voice inhumanly perfect; calm, uncaring, not too high, and not too low either.

I knew who it was just by feeling him near me. "Xana… where are we?" I asked softly.

Xana chuckled. "We're inside of you, in your mind. You carry me with you wherever you go. You merely now see me in a form you can understand," he explained.

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded.

"Because I believe it is right," he answered simply. I opened my mouth in protest, but he continued to speak. "This world you've grown so fond of is imperfect. Its inhabitants care nothing of the ground upon which they walk, or those who need their help. They prey to a nonexistent force to solve their worthless troubles, and they fail to see how ignorant they really are. I cannot permit them to be in existence any longer. I am merely doing what I believe must be done; destroying a worthless race of fools that aren't any good to anyone."

My throat tightened. "No Xana! You're wrong! The only thing I've done here on Earth is learned of the many wonderful things that are there. I've gained a sense of feeling; both physical and emotional. Can't you understand that what you want is not what they want? They have done nothing to you. Let them be!"

"But you must understand, Aelita, how these beings suffer so, only because they themselves are foolish; they wallow in their own ignorance which keeps them from thinking logically. I am doing them a favor, bringing them away from such pain. The war, the hatred, the suffering. When I am finished, all of that will be gone," Xana explained coolly, stepping closer to me. He was now just inches away.

"But there is so much good in the world as well, Xana. Can't you see? The humans experience everything, pleasure, pain, but more importantly, love. They exist to care about others, despite what you may think," I said, my eyes beginning to well up with hot tears. I squeezed my eyes shut, and they streamed down my cheeks.

Xana ran a finger down my face, brushing away a few of the streaks of moisture. "Do you know what these mean, Aelita? These tears? They are but an example of the pain I've seen in that world. Do you really want to feel them falling down your face all the time? They are ugly and worthless. In my world, they would be banished forever," Xana promised. He leaned closer to me, and whispered into my ear, "Don't you see that you can be better than the humans? You could be with me. We could have everything together. You wouldn't miss Earth at all," he said, and I could sense him smirking, though I couldn't see his face. I jumped when I felt the warm, wet sensation of his tongue running across my ear.

I gasped, and threw him off of me. "How dare you! I just don't get it, Xana! How could anyone possibly be as cold as you!" I demanded, my tears coming harder now.

Xana's face remained smug and cool. He shrugged slightly. "It's your choice, Aelita. Join me, or cease to exist. No one can save you from this virus I've given you. Not even that fool who goes by the name Jeremie." He paused. "And if I understand correctly…Jeremie doesn't like you anymore anyway." He smirked before turning, and began to make his way through the flowers again.

"Um, wait," I called.

"Change your mind?" Xana asked, as he looked over his shoulder at me with a self-satisfied smile.

"No, it's just… Xana, what was the key to my anti-virus after all? The knowledge can't save me, so it doesn't really matter now, I suppose. But I'd still like to know…" This question had been burning in the back of my mind ever since I learned of my virus. I did want to know the answer now, even though I truly knew that living through this was impossible.

Xana smiled. "You really want to know, eh? Well, I suppose I can grant you a gift before you die; the gift of knowledge. The key to your anti virus is quite simple, really," he took the liberty of a dramatic pause. "There isn't one. Plain and simple."

"But that's impossible! Every virus can be eradicated…" I argued back.

"Not this one," Xana grinned. "I honestly know that there doesn't exist one for you. Too bad… all that time and effort by Jeremie… for absolutely nothing."

"IT WASN'T NOTHING!" I screamed.

Xana sighed. "Really now, Aelita… you're as ignorant as the humans. I suppose that's unsurprising though. After all, you were once a true one. Thanks to your mother, I claimed you as my own and transformed you into a plain computer program to serve me. Too bad it didn't work all the way. If it had, those kids wouldn't keep defeating me. Ah well. Now the world will end all the same."

"My… mother?" I asked.

"Oh yes. It's quite a touching tale, actually. Too bad you'll never get to see your mother with your own eyes." He turned and shuffled away through the flowers, fading into the sunlight and then disappearing completely moments later.

"A mother…" I whispered to myself, sinking to my knees on the soft dirt. Suddenly I reached up, and put a hand to my forehead. I closed my eyes, remembering the feeling of being kissed, which I so vaguely recalled.

"Mom…"

**-**

**Yumi's P.O.V.**

"We could try looking for Odd over at the hospital…" I suggested, while taking the elevator down to the ground floor level of the factory with Ulrich.

"Good idea. But I doubt he'll be there," Ulrich said. "He's probably at the school… but we need to go check on Aelita anyway… I almost forgot about her doctor…"

My eyes widened. "SHIT, I totally forgot about that… Ulrich, this is serious! We have to go make sure she's okay!"

"Oh man, you're right!" Ulrich said.

The elevator doors opened, and the two of us burst out of them.

-

A few minutes later, we found ourselves breathlessly tearing between the emergency room doors. We ran down the hallway, catching glares from several nurses.

"HEY! You two can't go in –" a lady called to us as we pushed through the intensive care unit doors. We ignored her and kept running until we found Aelita's room, and then entered.

All was normal. Aelita lay silently in the depressing little room, her heart monitor beeping slowly.

Ulrich and I both let out sighs of relief, which were barely distinguishable from our gasping breaths which screamed for air. Running all the way from the factory to the hospital was murder to our lungs, which ached more than our legs did.

The brown-haired boy sank into the chair by the wall closest to Aelita, and I was so tired that I didn't even feel like getting my own chair. Instead, I collapsed on top of him. For a few minutes, all we did was work on getting our breath back. When we were back to normal, I got off of Ulrich, and, together, we walked over to Aelita. She looked just the same as before, if not a little paler. I brushed a strand of her hair aside, and looked over at Ulrich. He was staring down at her sadly. I reached over and took his hand.

A few more minutes passed before I turned and walked over to the door, and he followed me out into the hall.

"I wish it didn't have to be like this," I whispered sadly. "I want answers. I want to know why it has to be this way."

"Me too," he replied, putting an arm around my shoulders and bringing me close to him.

Slowly, the two of us began to walk back the way we had come. Our moods had each turned from alarmed worry to the sadness that can only come from seeing a friend dying, and it hung in the air in a painful way that struck each of us silent.

I rested my head on Ulrich's shoulder as we continued to walk down the hall.

Suddenly, he lurched to a halt.

"What?" I asked, picking my head up.

Ulrich was looking dead ahead. "She's here."

I looked forward. Down the hall a ways, Dr. Bachelder was looking through some files. When she looked up and saw us staring at her, she quickly dropped the folder she had been looking in, and ran away.

"Ready for some answers, Yumi?" Ulrich asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him as he broke into pursuit of the fleeing doctor.

-

**Jeremie's P.O.V.**

"UGH! THIS DOESN'T WORK EITHER!" I screamed, bringing a fist down on my desk angrily.

I ran a hand through my blond hair, which was usually neatly combed, but was now a mess.

"Oh…forget it… I'm never going to find it in time…" I said and realized this at the same moment, and was thoroughly startled by it. I never expected that I truly wouldn't meet my grim deadline; but now it was a sickening reality. Aelita, in all likelihood, was going to die. The truth cut through me like a razor blade.

I looked over at my bed. Aelita's diary rested on the edge delicately, almost ready to fall off. I got up, walked over to it, and picked it up. I ran my hand over the front, almost tearing up. It was like this was the only part of Aelita I had left now… the only memory, the only tiny piece of her heart, there, in my hands.

I held it close to me for a moment, silently feeling the object Aelita had poured herself into. I closed my eyes, and imagined her there with me, smiling her perfect smile, her warm, delicate arms around my shoulders. She would have told me not to waste my strength on her… but to enjoy life, no matter what.

I opened my eyes. "She's not dead yet," I said aloud.

I shoved the small black book into my pocket, and made my way for the door. All I knew was that even though I wouldn't be able to find the anti-virus right now… I could at least go see her. For one moment I could put it all aside, and just express to her my love before time intervened and forced us apart, maybe forever.


	11. I Need You

**Gwuh.** People keep asking me if this fic is dead. **It isn't.** I'm just a lazy ass. :P Anyhoo, there's only two more (or maybe three, I haven't decided yet) chapters after this. So… I'll be doing my best to update more often from now on.

This chapter is dedicated to all of my wonderful friends, both here on and off. Katie, Lee, Chibi, CB (my wonderful beta chapter tester), Sarah, Sam, Hayley, Nathan, and everyone else. :D

* * *

**-11-**

**-I Need You-**

**Aelita's P.O.V.**

It was so peaceful there. It was so quiet, that I could hear myself thinking. There was no room for interruption. It really was all I wanted. After all, it was the product of my own mind. I had created it. I was living inside myself.

But this wasn't the place for me. I didn't want to stay here forever. I wanted to be on Earth… where I wasn't trapped in an endless moment.

But I could never leave. I knew Xana was right. I would be here forever…

Forever. What did that mean? An immeasurable amount of time. That's it. Of course.

But it wasn't enough. I could define "forever", yes. But what did it really mean? What did forever feel like?

I didn't know…

**Odd's P.O.V.**

"…And so that was when Mrs. Hertz walked into the girls' bathroom ready to pounce! I was hiding in one of the stalls, but she was too stupid to see me… of all the obvious hiding places! I mean, come ON, that was pretty uncreative of me, and she still didn't find me!" Rhiné giggled out her story, her dark blue eyes glittering with happiness.

"I know what you mean, she's so clueless sometimes," I commented. Despite my previous feelings about this girl, I was sort of having a good time.

A cold wind swept past both of us, blowing some leaves in our faces. It was just then that I noticed how dark it was. If it wasn't past curfew already, it was sure to be soon. We had been walking around the school campus for so long just talking that we had lost track of the time.

I began to think about getting back to my dorm. "_No, I can't do that… Ulrich will be there…_" I thought to myself uneasily. I didn't know what I was going to do that night; there was no way in hell I'd go back to the dorm to sleep.

"Wow, it's really late…" Rhiné said softly, as if she had been reading my mind. "We should probably…"

A noise from behind us that sounded like walking made my heart jump.

Cutting her off with a swift hand to her mouth, we both froze, listening for the sound again.

_Shuffle, shuffle_. There it was.

I pulled Rhiné with me behind a corner of the school, and together, we stood as still as possible up against the brick wall.

"Do you think it's Jim?" Rhiné whispered.

"Shh…" I hushed, nodding. Taking a chance, I looked over the side of the building. Sure enough, Jim was strolling towards us with a flashlight and a less-than happy look on his face.

"We have to go NOW," I whispered, grabbing Rhiné by the arm and yanking her with me, and we broke into a run together.

"Where should we go?" she asked.

"Here. Quick!" I responded, dragging her into the garden shed and closing the doors behind us.

"Get down!" I ordered. I held my breath as I heard footsteps near our location.

A light shined into the tiny room we were crouched in. After thoroughly scanning the area, a deep, muffled curse sounded, and the footsteps retreated.

I let my breath out, and Rhiné giggled. "Wow, I thought for sure we'd be caught," she said with a small grin that shined under a bar of moonlight streaming in from the windows of the garden shed.

"Yeah…" I was suddenly aware of something. Looking down, I saw that my hand was still clasped with Rhiné's. We both blushed and unhooked our fingers.

**Ulrich's P.O.V.**

"HEY! STOP!" I shouted, Yumi running just as fast as me as we chased Dr. Bachelder down the hall.

Suddenly everyone knew the chase was over, and that Yumi and I had captured the doctor. It was the end of the hallway, and there was nothing the young woman could do but turn and face us.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Yumi demanded, grabbing the doctor and threatening to punch her.

"Please, don't hurt me," she said weakly.

"Why the hell shouldn't I? After all the pain you've caused the world…"

Dr. Bachelder looked confused. "But I…"

"SHUT UP! You're gonna tell us EVERYTHING you know about Aelita and Lyoko, RIGHT NOW," Yumi yelled.

I couldn't help but feel my jaw drop. I had never seen Yumi this aggressive before. I made a mental note to myself to try to stay on Yumi's good side.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the woman explained calmly.

Yumi threw her against a wall. "Don't fuck with my intelligence. We all know damn well who you are and what you're doing, Xana."

The woman's eyes widened at the name.

"Don't play surprised with us… how dare you try to play doctor on Aelita! You may not have emotions, Xana, but this has got to end _now_. Your madness is done." Yumi whispered angrily, her eyes fiery.

"Stop it. I'm not Xana… can we please talk about this somewhere else? People will get suspicious," Dr. Bachelder said quietly, a clump of reddish hair falling in her eyes.

Yumi took a deep breath to calm her rage, and let go of the doctor's coat. She took a step back, and ran a hand through her hair.

Without another word, the doctor straightened her clothes, and motioned for us to follow her down the hallway to a private room.

"You coming, Ulrich?" Yumi asked.

I realized then that I was still rooted into the same spot in the floor that I had been since Yumi had begun her little 'interrogation' of the young woman doctor we suspected had involvement in Xana's activities.

I blinked a few times, as if to shake myself loose. It worked. Quickly, I caught up to Yumi, and followed her and Dr. Bachelder into the private room. Once inside, the young woman shut the door behind us.

"Have a seat," she offered, and Yumi and I sank into two comfortable chairs. Dr. Bachelder took the identical one across from it.

"Okay, spill. Who are you? And what do you know about Aelita?" I asked.

"She's my daughter," Dr. Bachelder said plainly.

I felt my jaw drop.

"…WHAT!" Yumi and I both exclaimed in unison.

The doctor sighed. "It's… kind of painful for me… it's also a long story… are you ready?"

I nodded slowly, almost afraid to hear what she had to say.

"Back when I was your age, maybe a little older… that was about… fifteen years ago… I was in your position. I had friends like you who were battling an evil super computer virus of some sort. Of course, computers were still fairly new back then, and we really didn't know much about what we were dealing with…"

"Wait. How do you know about us and how we fight Xana?" Yumi interrupted.

"Would you please just listen? I'm getting to that…" Dr. Bachelder sighed. "Anyway, as I was saying, we were fighting a different virus back then… not Xana, but a less complex version we called Ana. We HATED Ana… but we didn't know how to kill her completely until one of my teammates constructed the off switch. We pulled it, and killed Ana, and we were certain that she would be gone forever after that…"

"Well, what happened?" Yumi asked anxiously.

"For years, she _was_ gone. We grew up, and I married one of my former teammates, David. We were very happy, and a year later we had twins… Aelita and Rhiné. But then I got a phone call from my friend Sumitra… who had startling news. Ana… came back… somehow… we don't know exactly what happened, but she had started poisoning the water supply here, and people were getting sick. We knew if we didn't do something, people would start to die, so we had to act fast. We tried to just delete the whole system again… but it didn't work like that. Ana, who we referred to as "extreme" Ana, or Xana, said that the only way she, or rather, he, would stop… would be… a human sacrifice… one of our daughters, to be exact," Dr Bachelder said, whispering the last part as if she were any louder she'd start to cry.

"So what did you do?" I asked.

"Well, we didn't know what would be right, until David pointed out that the right thing to do would be to give it what it wanted so it would stop hurting people. Of course, Sumitra and my other teammate were with me when they disagreed, both wanting to be the sacrifice instead. But Xana wouldn't have it… and we were going to just not do anything until we saw on the news that a little girl had died. That was when I knew that it had to be done… so, I asked my husband which one should go… and he couldn't choose. But then, Aelita looked at me as if to say that she was the one willing to go, and not to send her sister. I couldn't bear it, but I knew it was the right thing to do. Someone had already died… and couldn't be brought back to life… ever. So I took Aelita into the scanner with me, and the two of us were virtualized inside one of the towers. Xana accepted the offering, and we were sent back to the past… But all of us were so depressed that we couldn't talk to each other any more from that day on. David and I got a divorce, and I kept Rhiné with me. None of us knew that this was possible… that Aelita could have grown up in Lyoko and lived to this day. I can barely believe it myself…"

"But… that's impossible! You can't age in Lyoko! So Aelita would still be just a little baby girl right now if your story was legit," Yumi pointed out.

"Ana, I mean, Xana, I'm fairly certain he tried to change her to a complete computer program, so that she could never be materialized. In the process he probably made her appear a little older. It didn't work all the way, though, and that's why it was possible for her to be materialized at all. I don't know what else he did to her, actually, but she's lived as an AI all this time without my knowledge. Not until I was told about you, of course. Xana recently created a new program to infect humans with that takes advantage of a person's mental instability to get them to do whatever he wants. He told me about you when he tried to transfer the virus to me. But I wouldn't let him."

Yumi and I exchanged glances. "Odd and Jeremie!" she whispered in realization.

"He's infected your friends?" Dr. Bachelder asked.

We nodded.

"Well, I don't know what all you can do about it, the person has to choose to be happier to recover from the virus he's implanted in them. Under the circumstances, that would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible," she explained.

I sighed. "There's nothing we can do?"

"I don't think so…I'm sorry," said the doctor.

A thick, awkward silence hung over the room, before I remembered something else that I wanted to ask the woman.

"Yumi and I… noticed something on your forehead the other day…"

Her eyes dropped. Sighing, and she brushed away her bangs to reveal the scar shaped like the eye of Xana. "I got it from that bastard when the time reversal program did its job. I guess, not only did Xana want to make me give up my daughter, but he also wanted me to remember EXACTLY what happened that day. He wanted to make me suffer. And…" she began to choke up. "…And even though…I know he's just gotten the best of me… he _has_ made me suffer… every single day! I wake up and I think about how he ruined my life. He stole my family and friends and then left a physical mark to make me remember what happened those years ago…"

I felt a tinge of sympathy for the woman. She had lost everything to Xana, and kept quiet about it all these years for the protection of the world.

"Thank you for listening, but I've got to go, I'm sorry," she said quickly, obviously making sure she left before she actually started to cry. She opened the door to the room we were in and exited without another word.

For a long time, the two of us just sat there, processing all of this new information. It was too much… Aelita… was once a real girl… and… but…

I sighed.

"Well… what do you think? Is she full of shit?" Yumi asked me quietly.

"I don't know…" I said thoughtfully. "But somehow I think she's telling the truth."

**Jeremie's P.O.V.**

There she was.

Bed sheets white and matching walls; she was the only color in the room. But even her color seemed to be draining from her, abandoning her to find its own freedom.

I was sure I was crying. But I couldn't tell. It was like a dream. Everything felt blurry and unreal.

I walked over to her, unsure of what to do. Should I take her hand? Should I get a chair and pull it over to her so I could sit?

I didn't know. So I just did what I felt was right. Taking her cool fingers lightly in my own, I gulped a few times, and then began.

"I'm so…sorry Aelita… I'm sorry for everything. I…can't even begin to tell you how much I hate myself for what I've done to you. Everything was just… for nothing. I've killed you, Aelita. You're here because of me. And … I should be the one in your place. I deserve to die the most horrible death possible. Not you. You haven't done…anything, Aelita. I know you know that. And I know I can't expect you to forgive me but I…"

I stopped a moment to wipe away some of the tears flowing out of my eyes, and to sit down on the bed with Aelita.

"I don't even know if you can hear me anymore… or if you even care… but I just wish you could know… what you mean to me… you're everything to me. I wouldn't care if I lost every last thing I owned, just as long as I could spend one more… second with you," I sobbed.

I watched the pale girl's chest rise and fall slowly for a while. Sometimes I'd get scared that her next breath would be her last, and that would be that. But a new breath always came. Calmly, slowly, unfaltering, but still barely present, she held on. And I knew it was just a matter of time.

But I'd be there from now until the second it happened, just… _hoping_ that by some small miracle…

Slowly, I put my head down next to the comatose girl's, and silently, the fabric became damp with my tears.

"Aelita," I breathed into her hair.

"Wake up… please… I… I need you…"


	12. Soft

This one's dedicated to **CBIzumi** and **Imagination Queen**.

Two chapters left now. Also, my 106th reviewer and someone else random get the next dedications.

S'all.

* * *

**-12-  
-Soft-**

**Aelita's P.O.V.**

Drifting, slowly. To what, I didn't know. My mind was weighted, focused on nothing. I couldn't feel… I couldn't do anything… only be there… and wait… Waiting to die, waiting for everything to just go away. I didn't care what would happen to me next. Perhaps I'd go somewhere else, or maybe I'd stay in the flower field forever. Or maybe, I'd simply… stop being… though I could barely comprehend that last option.

Whatever it was that would happen, death was inevitable. I knew this, and I accepted it. There was nothing worth being alive for anymore, anyway.

And all I wanted was for the process to hurry… because, this was painful. I was numb physically, but in my heart… It was… so very, very… painful…

But then you were there.

I felt so happy, such pure… _euphoria_, to feel you there with me. You have a very distinct feeling, one that I had almost forgotten. So… warm, so sweet, so honest and sincere.

But there was another feeling that I barely noticed; the fear that you'd come to hurt me again.

But you didn't.

And you said things. Things that I had wanted to hear. Things that I had needed to hear.

And I knew… that I didn't want to die… I wanted to be… with you…

**

* * *

**

**Odd's P.O.V.**

Tap tap tap_…_

"_Ugh, no mom… just five more minutes…_

_Wait… no, I'm not at home, and I'm not in the dorm…_

_Where the hell am I!_"

Tap tap tap_…_

It was cold there, really cold. And there was something heavy and kind of warm and kind of soft was draped over me. And something was tapping… on glass, it sounded like.

The muffled sound of a girl, or rather, two girls, both voices laced with amusement were shouting at me. "Open your eyes!"

I did.

And I'm not sure what was more surprising; the fact that I was in the garden shed, or the fact that a sleeping girl was on me, or the fact that the giggling faces of Milly and Tamiya were staring down at me from behind the windows of the shed.

And then I remembered.

Oh, shit. Yes, I remembered, alright.

"Rhiné… hey… wake up," I said softly, shaking the girl with my free hand. My other hand was trapped along with my arm under her body, which I was suddenly aware was completely numb.

"Wh…what?" she asked groggily, opening one eye. That eye was apparently immediately glad to see me. "Odd!" she exclaimed, suddenly fully awake. She flung her arms around my neck all too quickly, and I felt myself blush.

"Um, Rhiné."

"What?" she asked from behind my head.

"We have an audience," I commented, even more mortified to see that the faces of the two younger girls had gone from mild giggling to full blown hoots of laughter.

"So?" Rhiné asked, all too indifferently.

"Come on, Rhiné, I've got to go to the hospital… and you do too, your mom probably wants to know where you've been," I said, standing, trying to mask my embarrassment. I walked over to the door and let Rhiné out, and then myself.

"Well, aren't you lucky we found you before Jim did?" Milly asked proudly, claiming my thanks with a sugary-sweet and disgustingly amused grin that stretched all the way across her little, ten-year-old face.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, we're lucky. Don't tell anyone about this, okay? Please?"

Milly looked as if she were going to shoot back a witty insult, but Tamiya stepped up and cut her off. She smiled politely and said, "Don't worry, Odd, we won't tell anyone."

"Thanks," I replied, giving her my best "I-owe-you-one" look. Then, Rhiné and I started walking off to the hospital.

We were silent most of the way there, until Rhiné randomly said, "You know… I wouldn't have wanted to accidentally stay the night in a garden shed with anyone but you."

I looked over at her, one eyebrow raised. We both burst into laughter.

As soon as we stopped laughing, I said, "Yeah, you know, it's the same for me."

She grinned, and took my hand.

And, though we never spoke after that, the rest of the walk to the hospital was the best thing that had happened to me in a very long time.

**

* * *

**

**Yumi's** **P.O.V.**

_He's so cute when he's asleep…_

I was sitting on the edge of Ulrich's bed, already up after spending the night in his dorm. It had happened by accident… I didn't mean to end up here all night. And I knew my parents would want to know where I had been when I finally got home, but that was the least of my worries right now.

After the incident at the hospital, Ulrich and I had gone back to the dorm to talk for a while. And we did, for a long time, actually. I hid when Jim had come by the dorm to announce curfew, and, after several antagonizing minutes of him questioning Ulrich about Odd's whereabouts, he left, and I came back out. Ulrich and I were just going to talk some more, about… everything, but it ended up with me asleep on his shoulder. I think I remember him asking me if I was awake, and then when not getting a reply, pulling the sheets up around my neck.

And I think… I _think_ I remember him kissing me… on the cheek, goodnight. But I don't remember. Maybe that never happened. You never know with Ulrich, anyway.

I awoke when it was still dark out, to find him stretched out on the floor. I had wondered whether or not to wake him up. Finally I had decided against it, and left him sleeping there. I put his blanket on top of him, and then waited for him to wake up.

He looked so innocent, so worriless asleep. Sometimes he would smile; sometimes he would grunt inaudible words. He was so perfect.

I had just been sitting there, admiring him, for an amount of time I didn't know. And then, somehow, my thoughts drifted away from Ulrich… far away, to Odd.

And the way he looked at me.

It felt… so strange… I didn't like it. I knew Odd liked me, but… this was different… it was as if he was angry with me for being with Ulrich. No, more like he _hated_ me for being with Ulrich. And I knew it was because of Xana… or, at least, I thought it was. I hoped it was.

But what if it wasn't?

And what if he had killed Ulrich that day in the factory? He damn well could have, if I hadn't talked him out of it. But what if he had killed Ulrich anyway? I would never have been able to forgive myself… much less get over Ulrich's dea…

"_No. I won't think about that._"

I hoped then, with all my heart, that Odd wasn't trying to kill anyone else… but I especially hoped, in a selfish sort of way, that he wasn't going to come after Ulrich anymore.

I sighed, and returned my attention to Ulrich's sleeping form on the floor, which was beginning to wake up. His eyes opened first, blinking, and then seeing me. Using an arm to prop himself up, he gave a weak smile.

"Hey."

I returned the smile. "Hey."

He looked down at the sheet wrapped around him, and then back up at me, not questioning it.

"I'm gonna go brush my teeth," he mumbled, getting onto his feet and stretching.

"Okay," I responded.

He walked over to the door, and opened it. As soon as he had gone, my thoughts raced back to Odd.

"_What if he had killed him…? Really, what if?_"

I rolled this question around in my troubled mind several times, and a lump began to grow in the back of my throat.

Without another thought, I ran out the door, and spotted Ulrich walking down the hallway. Seeing him, I ran in his direction, and flung my arms around his neck from behind. He gave a small yelp of surprise, which then became a soft, confused laugh.

"Um, hello to you too," he said.

**

* * *

**

**Jeremie's P.O.V.**

"Excuse me, sir?"

With a start, I jolted my head up and whirled around to see a woman in a pink nurse's outfit looking at me.

"Sir, were you here all night?"

I looked down at Aelita. Yes, I was there all night. And now my eyelids felt stiff from having cried myself to sleep.

Switching my gaze back at the nurse guiltily, I shrugged my shoulders. The nurse just sighed. "Well, next time, leave when visiting hours are over, okay?" With that, she exited the room silently.

I looked back down at Aelita. Taking her hand, I let out a long, heavy sigh.

'_Please come back…_'

My heart felt just a little bit heavier.

'_I need you here with me…_'

She wouldn't be able to do so many things now that she had probably dreamed of when still in Lyoko, and it was all my fault. My eyes welled up with tears.

'_Aelita…_'

They began to fall.

'_I love you… I'll always love you… forever…_'

Acid. That's what they felt like.

"I _will_ love you forever, Aelita. There will never… be anyone else but you…" I whispered.

'_Come back… I need for you to hear me… I need for you to know… what you mean to me… please…_'

I closed my eyes. I remembered the day I had first met Aelita, back when I was just learning about Lyoko. I remembered her smile, and feeling so stupidly insane; how I thought I must be even more pathetic than I had thought beforehand; when all I knew was that I was a nerd. But now I had… this crush on… on a computer program! That was even worse. I would have loved to talk it over with Odd or Ulrich… but I couldn't. That would be far too embarrassing. And they would have laughed at me anyway. So I kept it bottled up, secretly wishing I could just… speak to her face-to-face. So I told everyone that the reason why I had to materialize her was because if I didn't, she'd be deleted along with Xana and Lyoko. It was the right thing to do. Save an innocent and stop evil. And that wasn't a lie… just… a half-truth. The other half of the truth was that I also had feelings for her. And those were the feelings that truly fueled my determination. I believed she was special. She wasn't just a computer program to me. She was real.

And then I remembered all the times I had thought it was impossible to materialize her. After all, you can't make something human out of something virtual. But I kept a blind faith based on… well, my love for her. And, of course the facts: it was obviously possible to make a human virtual, so why not vice-versa?

So I had kept on trying, and then… it worked. It did. It was possible after all.

And then she was taken away from me again, only able to come into the real world for small periods of time, in case Xana were to launch an attack. I was so heartbroken, so discouraged after that. Impatient with Xana, and especially myself, all that kept me going was seeing her smile at me.

And now, it was selfish, but I wanted to see that smile again so… badly…

Something brought me out of my thoughts. A noise. Something had changed in the room… what was it?

Her heart monitor! Was it? No, it couldn't be.

"Jeremie…"

No, her heart monitor really was beeping faster. And she had just said my name. Or maybe she hadn't, and I had just gone insane.

"Jeh… Jerem…ie…"

It… it couldn't have been me! Eyelids fluttering, Aelita's body had re-animated itself… she was…

She was awake.

I caught my breath. "Aelita?"

"Jeremie…"

I put my ear down by her barely moving lips.

"Jeremie…" she breathed again. "What… what does forever feel like?"

I gulped, and turned my head so I could look into her partially open eyes, which were and filled with tears, like mine had been.

"Wh…what?" I asked.

"You said you'd love me forever… what does that mean?"

"It…" I stammered, still in shock, barely believing what was going on around me. "It means that no matter what happens…I'll always…you know… love you…"

Her tears began to fall, softly, rolling down from her beautiful, dark green eyes, into her hair. "You will?"

I gulped. "I will."

She squeezed more crystal tears out of her eyes, and drew in a small breath. "You… you promise?" This was the face of someone so afraid of being hurt, of being lied to. And I couldn't have expressed how much I hated myself for having hurt her like I had before in words or pictures or actions or…anything. She was so innocent, so sweet, so trusting. And I had broken her trust…

It was all I could do to try to come up with a response that sounded half as sincere as I felt. "I promise… I mean… I really do promise, Aelita…"

"Then… this is what forever feels like?"

My throat tightened with the pain of a lump. I swallowed it. "Aelita… this is what… beyond forever feels like."


	13. Unwanted

Well, I couldn't decide who to pick of my reviewers to dedicate this chapter to (other than my 106th reviewer), so everyone who reviewed chapter 12 gets dedication. :P

My 106th reviewer: **Girl-Ulrich**

**Angie Bower **(anonymous)  
**Little Vili  
Aelita Lyoko the 2nd/Virtual Freak **(anonymous)  
**Keiko Nishidera** (You've been reviewing for a while but I haven't mentioned you ever… sorry.)  
**Mrs. Odd Della Robbia  
sohowisYumi2181  
XoXoXOdD's-ChIbIlOvErXoXoX**

Thanks, guys! You mean a lot to me. :)

I haven't decided yet whether to dedicate the last chapter to anyone… so I guess we'll see what happens with that.

* * *

**-13-  
-Unwanted-**

**Jeremie's P.O.V.**

Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd were on their way to the hospital. I had called them a few minutes earlier with the news, but apparently they were already coming.

I took a deep breath, which was slightly shaky. Everything that had happened was just such a shock… It felt so… strange… and intense. My world was full of blurry stars… and I didn't know what to believe anymore.

I didn't deserve her waking up. Not one little bit. But she did… and…

Wow.

I sighed, and sat back in the small, grey waiting room chair, anticipating my friends' arrivals.

The hospital staff said they were just going to look Aelita over a bit to see if she really was okay after her strange coma. None of them could believe she'd just… woken up. She was considered a miracle case now; and no one really knew what to think of it. But Aelita's doctor, the woman, had said that if she looked well enough, they'd be willing to release her right away.

Suddenly, a noise from behind me jolted me out of thought with a not-so-pleasant start. I then realized that the noise was a voice… of a girl. "Jeremie? Is it… true?"

I looked over my shoulder, to see that the voice had belonged to Yumi. By her side was Ulrich.

I nodded.

The Asian girl and my other intense-looking friend walked over to me, and took advantage of two seats near mine.

Suddenly, Yumi couldn't stop smiling. "So… are you going to tell us what happened?"

Ulrich said, "Yumi, maybe we should tell him our news first…"

Yumi looked over at Ulrich, and they seemed to be communicating telepathically or something. Then, after a long, awkward moment, she returned her eyes to me. "It's a long story. But Ulrich's right, you need to hear it."

The girl's dark eyes found Ulrich again, and, with their creepy little mind-reading looks, and they seemed to be asking each other who wanted to tell me what they had discovered. I guess Ulrich won. He was just getting ready to tell me, when the ER doors opened, and in came Odd with a strange girl I had never seen before.

"Hey guys," he said with a wave.

I noticed that Yumi seemed to stiffen. But I didn't say anything.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"This is Rhiné. Rhiné, meet Ulrich, Jeremie, and Yumi."

The girl with the long, red hair who was called Rhiné smiled sweetly and kind of bounced up and down on her heels. "Hi!" she said in a perky voice, and, although I would never in a million years have said anything, I already hated this girl.

"Are you Dr. Bachelder's daughter?" Yumi asked, while silently offering Odd and the girl two seats near ours with a nod of her head.

"Yup! That's me!" she giggled.

Yumi and Ulrich, once again, exchanged 'the look' that suggested that they were speaking in some strange way. When they were done, they looked back at us.

"If you're her, then you have stuff to hear about," Ulrich said seriously.

"Really? Like what kinds of things?" Rhiné asked innocently.

* * *

**Aelita's P.O.V.**

It hurt.

The room seemed to be choking me while this woman informed me of things… things that I… I didn't know what to make of. She was, undoubtedly, the one who had kissed me on the forehead while I was asleep. And now, while checking me for errors, (or just problems, I suppose they don't call them errors here on earth), she was telling me things. About my past… and who I was now.

I listened intently as she drew the thick, dark fluid out of my arm, and, for a moment, I didn't know what to focus on more; her shocking words, or the fact that she had just stuck a, well, frankly, unpleasant metal object into my arm and took away what keeps me alive. For a test, she said. To make sure I was alright.

I knew I was alright. I knew my virus, and Xana, were both gone. I killed him and it. He wasn't coming back. But I wouldn't say anything about that… Xana, I felt, was just a thing of the past, who carried painful memories with him to the digital void I had expelled him to.

I looked up at the woman, who was now telling me she was willing to release me from the hospital. She said she'd give me my clothes back, and as soon as I was done dressing, to come see her at the front desk. There would be no need for a medical bill. She would take care of it.

I sighed. Mother was paying for me.

Mom.

It didn't sound right. It didn't sound right at all. I wanted it too. I really did. But I couldn't change the fact that… well, never mind.

So, in the bathroom, I put on my old clothes, which consisted of my skirt, shoes, jacket, and my yellow top, which was dotted in the front with a brown stain. My blood.

And then I was checked out, after a wait that lasted all too long.

Running out of the doors to the waiting room in the ER, I ran over to Jeremie, ignoring everyone else, and hugged him tightly.

"Uh… um… Ae…Aelita…." He stammered, which evoked a grin from me, even though I wasn't in the most optimistic mindset. Jeremie had always had a way of making me feel better, no matter my mood. That was one of the reasons I felt so connected to him.

And then I realized something else: the real Jeremie was back. The clumsy, smart, shy one who I had always loved. He was mine. All mine.

I pulled away, and turned my attention to the four other people standing in the ER. "It's so wonderful to see you all again…" I said, smiling.

Ulrich looked unkempt… or, more so than usual. But, like Yumi, he seemed genuinely happy, which made me feel a little better. I shuddered, thinking what they might have gone through while I was asleep…

As for Odd, I couldn't really tell what he was feeling. He was smiling, and seemed glad to see me. But there was more that he was worried about behind that smile… I got the impression that those worries weren't for me, though.

And then, of course, he _really_ needed to fix his hair, which was messier than Ulrich's, desperately trying to hold its normal structure but just barely doing so.

By his side was someone else…

"You're Aelita, right?" the girl with the long hair spoke up cheerfully.

"Yes, that's me. Who are you?" I asked with a smile.

"I'm Rhiné! I'm your sister!" she squealed.

I took a step back, and began to feel the same thing I felt while the doctor was looking at me to see if I was alright. Claustrophobic, like the walls were moving together, and the air in the room was steadily running out. My heart began to race, and my stomach turned upside-down.

I gulped. A mother. A sister.

No.

I thought I was going to throw up. "I'm sorry, but I've got to…" I didn't even finish my sentence. I was already running out the ER doors.

* * *

**Odd's P.O.V.**

I watched Jeremie run after Aelita with a sigh. Looked like things weren't gonna be back to normal for a while, even though Aelita was awake. I was worried about her, but I knew there was nothing I could do. This was for she and Jeremie to deal with.

Ulrich was talking to Rhiné. Yumi's arms were crossed, and she was staring off into space, obviously in her own little world.

I decided to seize the moment.

I coughed. "Um… Yumi?"

Life jumped back into her eyes, and she unfolded her arms as she turned her attention my way. "Yes?"

"I…I'm really sorry… for… everything…"

Yumi smiled. "You don't have to say you're sorry," she dismissed my apology with a small flick of her wrist. "It wasn't your fault anyway."

"Yes it was," I defended.

"It… it really wasn't, Odd. It was Xana. He had control of you."

"I know… but I don't understand… And why is it that I haven't felt him recently?"

Yumi opened her mouth to respond, but Ulrich cut her off. "Sorry to bug you guys, but, uh, Rhiné and I are just going to go outside and continue our conversation… we don't wanna get in the way," he said softly.

I knew what he was doing. He was just trying to give us some privacy.

Yumi nodded with a smile, and Ulrich and Rhiné exited the waiting room silently. After they were gone, Yumi looked back at me.

"Um, as I was about to say… your virus… we learned about it from Aelita's doctor. Apparently it thrives on a person's mental instability and takes control of them by hitting their weak points. Jeremie was affected because… well, I can't say for sure why he was so unhappy, but he was and so Xana was able to target him. I would suppose that he took control of you because you were unhappy, but it started to go away after you found this Rhiné girl."

"Oh…" was all I could think of to say. For some reason, the air around my face suddenly felt cold, as a blush clinched my face. The mention of Rhiné seemed to be it. But… I didn't want to think about that, much less talk about it.

"Anyway, you probably know more about it than I do…" Yumi shrugged.

"Um, Yumi, about this whole… crush-on-you thing… I um… I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable… and I know you love Ulrich… and I'm sorry… god… I… I feel so stupid now…"

Yumi burst into laughter. "Odd, shut up and give me a hug."

I looked up at her, and couldn't keep a grin from twisting around my face. We embraced.

"I love you, Odd," she said seriously, though the hint of a giggle was still on her voice.

"I love you too, Yumi."

"But only as a friend," she added, with a big grin.

I laughed. "Back atcha." Then, after a pause, I added, "But you had better not talk that way so much, or I just might try to kill Ulrich again."

Yumi grinned and ruffled my hair playfully. "You had damn-well better not… Or you'll have me to deal with."

I chuckled. "Hey, how about you and I go find Rhiné and Ulrich and go back to school to grab something to eat? I'm starving."

Yumi smirked and rolled her eyes. "You're always so hungry, Odd! I swear, when you grow up you're going to be like five hundred pounds."

I snorted. "Hah, like that'll ever happen. I'm too cool to be five hundred pounds!"

We walked off together, laughing.

And I realized… life really wasn't so bad for me. In fact, it was really, really good. It didn't matter if Yumi didn't like me in that way. We could still be friends, and we could still care deeply about each other. We didn't have to be lovers to be special to one another.

Yumi and I would just be friends. And I suddenly realized that that was just how I wanted it.

* * *

Just a little note: don't judge Aelita's situation quite yet. There's still stuff about her that we don't know yet. 

Well, one more chapter to go! Please review. :)


	14. Of Acid Tears

It's the last chapter ever...

No dedication. Sorry, everyone. But I do love you all. Thank you everyone for reading, you mean so much to me, though I'm sure I've already told you that enough...

Hah, like you can be told you're loved too much.

* * *

**Ulrich's P.O.V.**

"It's okay, Odd," I said, with a small smile curling the corner of my mouth upward as my blond friend walked down the street next to me.

"It's just weird. I don't know if I can forgive myself, even if you do," he sighed, running his fingers across the top of his head and through the slightly unkempt purple spot in the front. "I mean, how many guys try to kill their best friend?" The hint of a nervous laugh tinted the last part of his sentence.

I looked over at him briefly. "You were being controlled, Odd. You can't forget that."

He sighed. "Still…"

"It really is okay, Odd. You didn't do anything wrong."

He shook his head. "I liked Yumi. I envied you for her. That's why he could use me in the first place. Don't you think that's something?"

I coughed, and scratched the back of my head. "Well I still don't think you did anything wrong. It could have happened to anyone."

He hesitated. "…I guess so."

I forced myself to make a full smile. "Hey, cheer up, man. It's really no big deal. Xana's gone now anyway, right? We should be happy."

He returned my smile, though I could tell he was still writhing with discontent underneath of it. "Yeah. We should be happy."

"That's more like it." Then I added, under my breath, "Besides, now you have Rhiné. She's… one crazy piece of work," I laughed.

He gave me a much more real smile, and bumped me in the shoulder playfully. "Shut up, Ulrich."

I was about to say something in response, when a sound cut me off.

"ULRICH! ODD!" distantly, Yumi's voice was heard echoing towards us, and when we turned around, we saw she and Rhiné racing towards us.

"Here they come now," I said.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Yumi asked us as soon as she reached us. She and Rhiné were both out of breath and laughing hard.

I noticed Odd was now blushing in Rhiné's presence, and that would have made me laugh, except for the fact that I'm an awesome friend. So instead, I decided this was where we would split up boy-girl and boy-girl.

"I think I'll walk home with Yumi. Odd, you can go back to the school with Rhiné." I felt like I was giving out orders.

Odd tried to shrug away his obvious embarrassment, and he took Rhiné the other way with him.

"Wait," Rhiné said. "What's a Blumie?"

I looked over at Odd, and then at Yumi, trying to decipher this strange girl's words in their eyes… but they were just as lost as I was.

"You said you'd walk home with Blumie, Ulrich. Who's Blumie?"

OH.

I think I burst into laughter some time before she actually completed her sentence. This girl was more compatible with Odd than I had originally thought…

"You mean _Yumi_? As in… me?" Yumi was also chuckling.

She blinked, and then finally everything registered, and she began jumping up and down. "Oh, okay! I get it now!" She turned back to an amused-looking Odd, and they began to walk away. Over her shoulder, she shouted, "Well, anyway, I'll see you later, Ulrich and _Yumi_!"

She giggled, and I waved goodbye.

"Wow. She's not very bright, is she?" Yumi observed with a raised eyebrow and a softened tone as we began walking our own way.

"I guess not. But give her some credit… if she's the one who made Odd happier, so he could fight his virus… then she probably saved both his life, and mine too. Maybe yours as well."

"That's true. But still…" she flashed me a look, and I knew exactly what she meant.

I laughed. "Yeah. Blumie." I nudged her in the arm.

"Hey, shut up!" she laughed.

I shrugged and began to run. "Last one back to your house is a rotten egg!"

"UGH! You SUCK!" she yelled with a grin, and she then took off running after me.

I stopped to turn around and stick my tongue out at her, but then began running again immediately, because I knew that if she caught up to me I was dead. But that's what made it fun.

And that's why I loved Yumi. Sorry, Odd. But I got her first.

* * *

**Odd's P.O.V.**

"…And that one's about this guy who changes into a girl whenever he gets hit with cold water. It's so hilarious!" Rhiné was telling me about a manga or something. I had already forgotten the name. Of course, that's how a lot of our conversations went. But we didn't really care.

"Cool."

"What do you do for fun, anyway, Odd? You always seem so… sad and stuff when we talk."

I raised an eyebrow. "Sad? Really? I don't think I've ever even heard my name associated with that word before."

"Is it because of that computer guy or something? Because I think he's dead now."

"Xana? No. Yes. Well… kind of. It's complicated."

She looked over at me for a moment, and then shrugged. "Well anyway, there's the school."

"Yup."

"I guess I should go now, huh?" she asked.

"You… uh… you don't… have to go… if you don't want to," I said awkwardly. "I mean, you could come hang out with me at my dorm if you want."

I jumped at the sudden snarl known as Jim's voice. "ODD! WHERE ARE YOU?" he boomed angrily, and I knew I was in for it… for something, anyway.

I hung my head. "Never mind. Looks like that buffoon we have for a gym teacher is after me for something again."

I stood there with Rhiné, waiting for Jim to come find me. But then, totally to my surprise, I felt her grab my arm and yank me across the school campus. I didn't know what I was doing, or what she was doing, or where we would go, or… anything. But thinking about that wasn't really my first priority. All I knew was to get as far away from Jim as I could or I was just a footnote in the history of Kadic Jr. High.

Meanwhile, Rhiné was apparently trying to find a place to hide. Finally Rhiné decided on a spot, and pushed me behind a thick cluster of bushes, which she quickly dove behind as well.

"What are you doing? We're gonna get in even more tr--"

She put her finger to her lips, and I shut up.

"Alright, where are you? Come out or else you'll be in even more trouble, young man," we heard Jim say as he strode around us, thankfully not noticing where we were.

I didn't dare to move a muscle or even breathe… And if my eyes weren't squeezed shut, I probably could have seen through the thick leaves of the bush that he was only feet away.

I heard him give a gruff sigh. "Those kids. Sheesh." And he began walking away.

We waited for a moment before emerging from the leafy hiding spot. I brushed the dirt off of my knees, and then looked over at a pleased-looking Rhiné.

"Why did you…?"

She cut me off. "I just thought… getting in trouble is no fun… but you can do that whenever you want to. You only get so much time to hang out with me though, so why not save the worst for last?" She laughed, and I laughed with her.

"Thanks, Rhiné."

"Not necessary. Besides, I owe you for fast thinking last night. Without you we'd both be in big trouble already."

"No… really, thanks. For everything."

"But there's only one thing…" I could tell I had confused her.

"I mean like… you saved me from that idiot," I nodded my head in the direction Jim had walked off in. "But you kinda… I dunno, you kinda saved me from myself, too."

She put her arms around my shoulders. "You know what, Odd?" she said next to my ear, which I'm sure had turned pink along with my face.

"What?"

"I don't know what the hell that's supposed to mean, but if we just cut to the chase, I'm really glad I met you too," she laughed.

* * *

**Aelita's P.O.V.**

The rough cement that made up the roof of the abandoned factory was cold and hard. Sitting up there, I let my legs dangle down freely off the side of the factory, while holding the guard rails lightly so as not to fall off. The sun was just beginning to sink, casting an orange veil over the world. It almost reminded me of Lyoko. Quiet colors filling open skies with painfully emotionless hues. Emotionless, like I was, once upon a time. But this world was far from emotionless… it just felt that way sometimes.

I was crying, watching this world. I didn't know why. No, that was a lie. I did know why.

But lying to myself was the easiest thing to do now.

Crying was a familiar feeling by now. It always started with a pain in the back of my throat, and then warm water blurring my vision. And then the water would fall from my eyes, cooling fast as it slipped away from me. Sometimes I wouldn't know I was crying until much later when I realized I was. It felt good to cry. But it made me feel weak, too. I wasn't sure if being this emotional all the time was healthy for a human girl or not.

It didn't matter now, though. It didn't matter if it was healthy or not. I had served my purpose now that Xana was finally gone. I felt like an empty shell now that it was all over. I had always thought that protecting the world from Xana was the only reason I was alive. But now my reason was gone… so what was I to do?

Overhead, a v-shaped flock of birds cawed as it soared past me. I rested my head on the cold metal pole that was the guard rail. It smelled metallic, and that scent mixed with a gust of late-autumn wind, which carried the faint aroma of a bonfire with it. It was a good smell. It smelled alive. It reminded me, once again, that I was not alone in the world.

I was startled by the sound of the trap door that led up to where I was on the roof open, but that feeling left me as quickly as it had come when I realized what it was. I knew it was just Jeremie emerging from the hole, though my back was still turned away from him. I could tell just by recognizing the feeling I always get when I was near him.

"Are you okay, Aelita?" he asked me, using a quiet, worried tone.

I turned to glance at him, and a new tear slipped down my face, though I was happy to see him.

"It's cold up here," I said softly.

"Do you want me to get you a jacket or something?" he asked with concern.

My mouth briefly spread into a contained smile. "No, that's okay, Jeremie. I sort of like the cold… it reminds me that I'm alive."

A gust of late-autumn wind brought a silence with it as it swept over us. Jeremie remained standing behind me, and I could tell he wasn't sure what to do.

"Do you remember the first time I felt the cold, Jeremie? It was so wonderful," I recalled with a soft smile.

Jeremie finally walked over to me and sat by my side.

I looked over at him. "But now I feel… numb."

He coughed, and awkwardly snaked an arm around me. Without hesitation, I scooted close to him and leaned onto his shoulder, which I was sure would embarrass him, though his timidity seemed too trivial to care about now.

"I already have you as a family, Jeremie. You and the others. I don't… I don't want these other people," I said, softening my voice at the end so I wouldn't choke on my words. "And I feel… so terrible for not accepting them like they want me to."

"It's okay, Aelita. You don't have to accept anything."

"They can adopt me legally, though… can't they?"

"No."

I lifted my head off of Jeremie's shoulder to look him in the eye. "They can't?"

"Well, I did some checking… it's true that you were once Dr. Bachelder's daughter, but after you were sent to live in Lyoko, I think Xana tried to convert you into a whole computer program… for what, I don't know."

"So he basically tried to erase my genetic data."

"Right. But it didn't work all the way, and that's why I could materialize you. That's also probably why you feel emotions and such. But it also means that the portion of your genetic information that was deleted will never come back to you… and so technically speaking, you have no biological parents. Your DNA is completely unique."

"I see…" I responded. "Jeremie…"

"What?"

"Is it wrong that I find that information relieving?"

He smiled. "No… I don't think so."

I wiped some of the tears off of my cheeks, and suddenly felt much lighter. I didn't have to worry now. Dr. Bachelder was a wonderful woman. And her daughter, I was sure, was a brilliant individual as well. But they weren't… the ones I would consider family. I never would.

And then it hit me like a rock; the fact that I didn't want them… that was perfectly fine.

A new cool but gentle breeze glided over us, pulling at our hair and clothing, caressing our flesh calmly, and sending waves of electricity up and down our spines. I remained silent, looking out at the world beyond this great height, and found myself once again marveling at the astonishingly overlooked beauty of this world I had come to love so much.

Suddenly, Jeremie broke the silence. "Uh… oh, Ae… Aelita?"

"Yes, Jeremie?" I responded, turning my head to look at him.

"I, um…" he stammered, and then finally gave up on words and simply reached into his pocket, and a second later his hand reappeared, this time clutching a small, black book, which he handed to me.

"My diary…?" I asked, questions beginning to seep into my brain.

Embarrassed, he coughed, and tried to explain. "I found it in the hallway by my dorm…"

"Oh, I see…"

"Aelita?" He looked up at me guiltily.

I already knew what he was about to confess. "You read it, didn't you?"

His eyes returned to his lap.

I sighed. "How much?"

"A few entries…"

I looked down at the tiny book in my hands, and then back up at Jeremie. A small smile appeared on my lips.

"Are you angry?" he asked, dreading the answer.

I hesitated, and then shook my head. "It's alright, Jeremie."

He looked relieved. "I'm really sorry I read some of it, Aelita. It really wasn't my business at all…"

I laughed. "Don't worry about it."

An awkward silence filled both of us up. Feeling the need to do something, I watched myself bob my legs up and down off the side of the factory, while trying to decide what to say to him.

I took a deep breath, and turned my smiling face at Jeremie, searching for something to say in his expression. But I found myself studying his features for a moment instead… his boyish face, pale from showing it daylight so little, was so… so perfect. Jeremie's face was as wonderful as his spirit… and that thought linked back to an old one… Did I have a spirit of my own?

Yes, I thought. I do. I didn't need to be re-assured by anyone about that. I could simply decide for myself.

My mind wandered back to the boy in front of me, and suddenly I was overcome by a strange urge.

"Jeremie?" I asked, shattering the silence between us.

"Uh…um, yes, Aelita?" I could tell he was startled that I had suddenly spoken. And he was even more startled at what I said next.

"Can I kiss you?"

I watched as Jeremie's already flushed face became darker than I had ever seen it.

"I…" he coughed, and sort of shook his head, as if to jar free some words. "Um, sure… I…yeah, okay…"

I laughed, and leaned forward, closing my eyes. Gently, and hoping that I was doing this correctly, I brought my lips onto his, and began to kiss him slowly. For a moment, there was no movement in return. But then, awkwardly, I felt him kiss back. A warm feeling gathered in my stomach. Kissing Jeremie was… bliss.

I broke my lips away from his, and withdrew my head. Jeremie was still blushing furiously, but in the midst of all his embarrassment was a small, sincere smile.

"Ae…" he squeaked. Coughing to clear his throat, he tried again. "Aelita… I, um… that was really…"

"Jeremie?"

"Wh…what?"

"You don't have to try to say anything."

He closed his mouth, and nodded, though he was unable to suppress a huge, boyish grin.

I laughed.

And then I kissed him again.

Fin.


End file.
